Unexpected
by kylieskatz22
Summary: Kat's brother Cody loves the band R5. When they move in next door, she isn't too thrilled. She ends up spending a lot of time with R5 because her brother drags her along. Kat keeps getting stuck with Riker Lynch, and treats him horribly. Will he ignore it, or will he eventually blow up at her?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Kat POV**

"How are you not excited!?" My twin brother Cody was yelling.

"Why would I be excited?" I asked.

"Because my favorite band moved in just down the street!"

"So? Why would _I_ be excited?"

"Kat! It's R5! Do you not know how completely _gorgeous_ Rydel is!?"

"Cody, I don't care."

"Well mom and dad said we're going over there in a few minutes to introduce ourselves to them, and you're coming!

"What do you mean I'm coming? I don't even like them! There's no point in introducing myself to them if I'm never even going to see them again!"

"Mom and dad said we're all going."

"UGH!"

"Oh come on. Why do you hate them anyways? You don't even know them."

"I know enough."

I actually knew a lot about them and their music. Cody talked nonstop about the girl, Rydel, and was always blasting their music from his bedroom which happened to be right next to mine.

"Kat-"

"Come on, let's just go and get this over with."

5 minutes later, Cody, my mom, dad, and I were all walking down the street to R5's house. I was more dragging my feet than walking, but I had no interest in meeting them. They were celebrities and celebrities were always full of themselves. I was even more annoyed than I would have been, since Cody had been talking nonstop about them ever since he found out where they were moving to. We finally arrived at their house, and Cody knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a boy with blond hair opened the door and greeted us.

"Hi, my name's Ross," he said.

"Hi, we live just down the road, and we just wanted to introduce ourselves," said Cody.

"Oh, cool. Hold on a second, I'll go get the rest of my family. You guys can come in," said Ross.

Ross. What a strange name. A strange name, perfect for a strange boy, in a strange band.

**30 Minutes Later…**

**Kat POV**

Somehow, we were now all sitting outside on their patio, talking. I had been the last one to walk outside, so I was forced to take the last seat available, next to another blond haired boy, whose name was Riker. Again, another strange name…

After talking (well not me) for a little while, Ross's mom suggested that we all watch a movie. Cody practically dragged me behind him as we followed Riker up the stairs to his bedroom. Again, I was one of the last people to walk into the room, so I ended up sitting next to Riker on his bed.

Halfway through the movie, their mom asked them to help move something outside, so everyone, except me and Riker, went running down the stairs to help. Great. Just great. Alone, in a room with some guy, from a band I don't even like.

"Are you ok?" Riker asked.

"What? Yeah...?"

"Ok. You just didn't really seem that into the movie."

"Well no offense, but I'm not exactly a fan of your band like my brother is. Watching a movie in a room full of people I don't even know, isn't exactly my idea of a perfect Friday night," I said.

Before Riker had the chance to reply, Ross came flying through the door.

"Mom's going to let us play manhunt!" Ross shouted.

"Where? We barely have a yard," said Riker.

"We're going over to Cody and Kat's house! Oh and by the way, our parents and Cody's parents are going out for a late dinner, so we don't have to be back home for a while!" Ross shouted.

Ross ran back out of the room, and down the stairs. I sighed, and leaned against Riker's bedroom wall.

"Come on. It'll be fun," said Riker.

Riker grabbed my hand and pulled me down the stairs and out the front door, only making me more annoyed. We followed everyone else back down the street towards my and Cody's house.

"Ok, let's do teams of two," said a boy with brown hair.

"Cody, I'm going to go inside," I said.

"You can't. We need you," said Cody.

"Why?"

"If you leave, the teams won't be even."

"Ugh fine!"

"Ok, let's do Ryland and Rocky, Rydel and me, Ross and Cody, and Riker and Kat. Riker and Kat, you guys can hunt first," said the brown haired boy.

Great. Not only was I stuck playing manhunt, but I was paired with Riker!

"Ok, we'll go count at the front door," said Riker, pulling my hand again.

The other teams took off as Riker started counting.

"Ok, ready?" Riker asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to play this stupid game!" I shouted.

"We can't just leave everyone out there!"

"Well then, why don't _you_ go find them!?"

I stood up and tried opening the door. Locked. UGH!

"I guess you'll just have to come with me," said Riker, using a really annoying tone of voice.

I rolled my eyes. My parents had gone out to dinner, so I was locked out until they came back, which could be hours now.

"Come on, let's go," said Riker grabbing my hand and pulling me again.

I pulled back.

"Stop touching me! You've been doing that all night!" I shouted.

"What?"

"Grabbing my hand and dragging me off somewhere!"

"I'm sorry-"

"No. Let's just go find them so we can be finished with this thing."

Riker was still looking at me, looking pretty upset that I was mad. I rolled my eyes, and started off in a random direction towards the woods in the backyard. I could hear Riker following me closely.

"Kat, really, I _am_ sorry," said Riker.

"Whatever…"

I kept walking down one of the trails in the woods, stopping a few times to look around. We had a stream a few hundred feet away in the woods. I suspected Cody would be hiding there with whoever his partner was, so I started heading there first. Riker silently followed close behind. Just as we were getting close to the stream, I saw 2 dark figures quickly walk across a fallen tree that connected both shores of the stream. I took off towards them, not wanting this game to go on any longer than it had to. Riker started running behind me too. As I ran across the log to the other side, I turned back just in time to see Riker slip and slam his shoulder into the log before falling into the stream. It wasn't really that deep or anything, but it was pretty fast for a stream. It carried Riker about 20 feet before he was able to grab the edge of the shore. I already knew it was too deep for Riker to stand, and the fact that the edge of the shore was about 2 feet above the edge of the water basically told me I was going to have to help him. I slowly walked over when Riker tried and failed to get up on his own, ruining my chances of catching the other team.

"Can you please help me get up?" Riker asked.

"Why do you think I came over here?"

Riker looked up at me, his eyes pleading for help. I rolled my eyes.

"Here, take my hand," I said, annoyed.

Riker grabbed my hand, and I was able to pull him out.

"Thanks," said Riker, shivering a little.

I started walking again in the direction I had seen the other team run off in.

"Why are you mad at me?" Riker asked, obviously a little hurt by the way I talked to him.

"Well, you falling basically ruined our chances of catching that other team," I said.

"You don't even want to play this game."

"The sooner I catch them, the sooner this can be over, and I can go home."

"Mmmh!"

I turned around.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. My shoulder just hurts."

"Ok then…"

I turned back and kept walking. I knew where I was going because we were on my best friend's property now. I saw something move again, and started racing towards it, Riker behind me. As I got closer, I could tell that it was the brown haired boy that had made the teams and the girl, Rydel. Rydel tripped and fell, allowing me to tag her, eliminating their team. Riker caught up with me, breathing hard.

Riker helped Rydel up as I continued walking, looking for another team. Riker ran up behind me.

"Where are you going!?" He asked.

"I don't know! I'm looking for more people!" I shouted back.

"Well do you even know where we are?"

"Sort of, why?"

"Because I am completely lost!"

"Well then you shouldn't have wanted to play this game!"

"Can we at least start heading in the direction of your house?"

"Why are you so concerned?"

"Because I'm soaking wet and freezing!"

"Maybe next time, you'll be more careful."

"Just stop it already!"

"What!?"

"Yelling at me! That's all you've done all night! What's your problem!?"

"I don't like you!"

"Why?"

"Every single day I have to hear from Cody what an amazing band you guys are, and how hot Rydel is. I'm sick of it! I never wanted to meet you and I didn't want to get stuck playing manhunt, PAIRED WITH YOU!"

"I've been nothing but nice to you! I don't see why you can't at least _try_ to get along with me!"

"I just want to go home!"

"So let's go!"

"Did you forget that the front door's locked!?"

Riker looked at the ground. I turned away from him and started walking again. After a few minutes of walking, I spotted my twin, Cody, and raced after him and what looked like Ross. Riker, still following me, took off too. When I caught up to Cody, I jumped on his back. He spun me around in circles, laughing.

"You finally caught us! That took forever!" Said Cody.

"Yeah, well _someone_ fell in the stream…" I said, turning to Riker.

Ross started laughing as he walked over to us.

"Oh my gosh Riker! Are you ok!?" Ross asked, still laughing hysterically.

"Uh yeah, fine."

"So did you guys catch anyone else yet?" Asked Cody.

"Yeah, Rydel and some boy," I said.

"Ellington," said Ross.

"Ok…" I said.

"We'll see you guys at home," said Cody.

"Wait, what do you mean? It's locked," I said.

"We'll sit on the front steps. We were caught, so we have to go back there now," said Cody.

"Alrightly then…" I said.

I turned to face Riker as Cody and Ross walked away.

"Well let's go," I said.

Riker opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. I knew he was annoyed. He followed me again as we walked back home, not finding anyone else. We walked up to the front door to where Ellington, Ross, Rydel, and Cody were sitting and talking.

"Well?" Asked Cody.

"We couldn't find anyone else. Are mom and dad home yet? I want to go to bed," I said.

"Not yet," said Cody.

"Whoa Riker! Why are you all wet?" Ellington asked.

"I fell in the stream."

Ellington laughed.

"That's totally something you would do!" Said Ellington.

I sat down as Riker sighed and sat in the grass next to me. We waited a little while, but eventually, the last team came walking out of the woods, still unfound by us.

"What happened to you guys?" One of them asked.

"We gave up," I shouted back.

They walked over to us and sat down in the grass. The taller boy looked over at Riker, noticing he was all wet.

"Don't ask…" Said Riker.

"Well what do you guys want to do now?" Asked Cody.

"Mom and dad aren't home. There's nothing _to_ do," I said.

I just wanted to go sit in bed, watch TV, and forget I ever met them.

"We could go back to our house," said Ross.

"Didn't your parents also leave?" Cody asked.

"Well yeah, but we left our skateboards outside. We could do that," said Ross.

"Cool, I love skateboarding, and so does Kat," said Cody.

I wanted to kill him. Why would you say that Cody!?

"Alright, let's go," said Ross.

I reluctantly walked with everyone over to the Lynch's house. As much as I didn't want to be around them, I wasn't about to sit in the dark on my front steps alone for however long.

**Riker POV**

As we walked back to my house, I couldn't stop thinking about Kat and the way she treated me. I just couldn't understand why she didn't like me. She wasn't even trying to get along with me. I guess I was lucky she even helped me get out of the stream. Ugh. I'm still soaking wet. And cold…

"So Kat, how good are you at skateboarding?" Ross asked.

"Mmm… I don't know. I've been skateboarding ever since I can remember."

"She's amazing, probably better than me," said Cody.

When we got back to my house, I went and sat down on my front steps. I pulled my legs up to my chest, and tried to warm up. It was so cold that I could see my breath. I was only wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt, and I was freezing! Everyone else except Kat was running around like crazy people, doing tricks on skateboards, so they weren't even the slightest bit cold. Kat came over and sat down next to me.

"Are you ok?" I asked, confused as to why she would sit next to me.

"Yeah…?"

"Well you're not skateboarding with them, so I was just wondering."

"I don't like skateboarding in front of people. Why aren't _you_ skateboarding?"

"I'm so cold, I can barely even feel my arms or legs," I said, rubbing my arms.

Kat rolled her eyes and looked away from me.

"Hey Riker, Cody told us about this mini ice cream place around the corner. Do you want to come with us?" Ross asked.

"No, I think I'll stay here," I said.

"Ok. I know you're cold. I texted mom, and she said she left a spare key out here somewhere, but she forgot where. So if you want to try to find it…"

I couldn't hear him anymore. He was too far down the road. But it didn't matter. Now I knew there was a key, and I needed to find it! I got up and started looking for it. Kat laughed at me.

"W-what?" I asked.

"You look ridiculous. You're shaking like crazy and you're trying to find a teeny tiny key in the dark," said Kat.

"K-Kat, I know you d-don't l-like me, and stuff, b-but I am _r-really_ cold! P-please, can you j-just help m-me look for the k-key?" I asked.

"Why should I?"

"Kat, p-please! I'm f-freezing! It's so c-cold, I can see my own b-breath when I t-talk! I don't know w-why everyone w-wants ice cream _n-now_! You're w-wearing a s-sweatshirt, but I'm n-not, and my clothes are s-soaked! P-please!?"

"Ugh, alright fine…"

"T-thanks…"

After only a few minutes of searching, I was exhausted from the cold, and everything that had happened today. I fell to the ground, shaking, and rolled over on my back. I squeezed my eyes shut, and tried to concentrate on stopping myself from shaking so hard.

"Hey, I think I found your stupid key," said Kat.

My eyes snapped open, and I was surprised to see Kat holding up a key. I pulled myself up, and took the key from her. My fingers were so cold, I had trouble unlocking the door, but I finally got it, and ran inside with Kat.

"What are you going to do? Do you even have heat yet?" Kat asked.

"N-no, I d-don't think s-so. B-but I'm going t-to change into dry c-clothes at l-least," I said.

**Kat POV**

Riker came back downstairs a few minutes later wearing dry clothes and he had a blanket wrapped around him.

"Kat, seriously, thank you so much for finding that key! I was _so_ cold!" Said Riker.

"Yeah whatever…"

"No Kat, seriously. I was really scared… Thank you."

Riker came over and wrapped the blanket around me as he hugged me. I sighed, too tired to protest. Riker pulled me over to the couch in the living room and sat down. I sat down next to him, since he was still holding onto my hand. After I sat down, Riker spread the blanket across both of us, and we waited for either our parents, or our siblings to come back. It ended up being his parents first.

"Hey you guys. I'm glad you found the key. It's a little chilly outside. Where's everyone else?" Riker's mom asked.

"They're actually getting ice cream," said Riker.

"They're crazy," said his mom.

"Well my parents are probably home now, so, I'm going to go," I said, quickly standing up.

"Riker, walk Kat home. Make sure she gets there safely," said his mom.

Riker followed me out the door.

"You really don't have to walk me home," I said.

"No, I do. I will seriously get in trouble if I don't," said Riker.

"Alright then…"

Riker and I walked back to my house that was now lit up.

"Well thanks for walking me home I guess," I said kind of sarcastically.

"Kat seriously, thank you for helping me find that key!" Said Riker.

I rolled my eyes as I turned and walked through my front door, leaving Riker by himself. I walked past my parents and up to my bedroom. Finally, I was alone, and more importantly, away from Riker. To make things even better, Cody wasn't back yet, so it was really calm and quiet. Not that I didn't like Cody or anything. Cody was actually like the one person I actually talked to. He knew everything from failed tests, to boyfriends and crushes, lies, everything! Not even my parents knew about any of this! I never liked trusting people, but Cody was the one person I did trust. He could be annoying sometimes, especially with his R5 obsession, but he was my brother, and I needed him.

I got ready for bed, and fell asleep before Cody came back. But I wondered why Riker seemed to care so much about me. He was really nice, even though I treated him horribly. Whatever…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Kat POV**

A few days had gone by, and I had spent them in my room. Cody was now practically best friends with the Lynch family. I hadn't seen them since that first night though, and I was glad. But today, my parents decided I was getting stuck at their house for way longer than I would ever want…

"Why can't we just stay home?" I asked.

"Because we have to travel, and we won't be back for a few days. I don't want you two home alone," said my mom.

My mom and dad were thinking about getting a divorce, and they kept leaving to talk to lawyers. Normally it wasn't an out of state thing, but my parents were really picky. I thought they probably wouldn't go through with it though. They liked to have something to threaten each other with, in this case, having a better lawyer.

"Go upstairs and pack a suitcase," said my mom.

"Fine!"

It was spring break, but it did _not_ feel like it at all! I packed 2 suitcases, one with clothes, and one with random stuff, and brought them downstairs. I put them next to Cody's, and sat down on the couch. My dad had already left yesterday, and my mom was leaving in 10 minutes.

"These are going to be the best 3 days of my whole life!" Shouted Cody.

I rolled my eyes.

"Alright you guys, let's go," said my mom.

I grabbed my suitcase and slowly followed my brother out the door. Our mom put her bags in the trunk, and drove us down the street to the Lynch's.

After thanking their mom, Stormie Lynch, for watching us, our mom left. And I was stuck in the dreaded place. It was decided that I would sleep in Rydel's room, but that didn't end up happening. Everyone thought it would be fun to just have a giant sleepover downstairs in the living room.

I got in my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. There was no way I was participating in anything they were doing tonight. They kept talking and talking and talking… Eventually I fell asleep though…

**The Next Morning…**

**Kat POV**

I woke up before anyone else, or so I thought, and I had a major headache. I sighed, closed my eyes again, and flopped backwards onto my pillow, pushing my hand into my forehead, trying to ease the pain any way I could.

"Are you alright?" Someone asked quietly.

My eyes snapped open, and I sat up and looked at the other person that was awake. Riker. Great…

"I just have a headache," I said, grumbling.

"Do you want me to get you something for it?" Riker asked.

"No. I'm fine. I just need to get some fresh air," I said, standing up and walking towards their front door.

Not surprisingly, Riker just had to tag along with me for some reason. He sat down next to me on his front steps. The morning air felt cold, but I wanted to be out there anyway. I closed my eyes, and tried to focus on making my headache go away, but there was no use. I rubbed my temples, trying to feel better as Riker got up and went inside. Maybe he actually understood I wanted to be _alone_. Nope.

A few minutes later, Riker came back out, and sat down next to me again, holding a glass of water.

"Here. Take this," said Riker, handing me the glass of water and a pill.

"What?"

"It'll make your head feel better," said Riker.

I rolled my eyes before taking the glass and pill from Riker. I felt weird, but my head was pounding, and I just wanted it all to stop. I set the glass down next to me, and sighed. I noticed Riker kept glancing at me. Whatever…

I got up and walked back inside, leaving Riker all alone. Almost everyone was awake now. I flopped on top of my sleeping bag and closed my eyes. I could hear Riker come back inside and put the glass in the sink before walking into the living room.

"So Cody, what do you want to do today?" Ross asked.

"Ooh! I heard about this carnival that opens today. It's only like 20 minutes from here. We should go!" Said my brother.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that!" Said Ross.

"But Kat doesn't really like carnivals and rides and stuff," said Cody.

"We'll figure something out," said Ross.

**Hours Later…**

**Riker POV**

"But why can't _I_ go? Why not Ross or Rocky?" I asked.

"Because you're the oldest, and Kat's our guest. If she doesn't like carnivals, I'm not going to force her to go. But I'm also not going to let her be stuck home alone either," said my mom.

"But she hates me!"

"Why would she hate you?"

"That's the thing! I have no idea! I've been really nice to her!"

"Well, this will be a good opportunity for you to improve your relationship with her."

"What?"

"Ross was telling me earlier how Cody and he are like best friends now. If you hate Kat, that could hurt their relationship."

"I don't hate Kat. She hates _me_. I just don't understand her."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Mom, really? Do I have to?"

"Yes Riker. You know, her mom and I were talking, and her parents are thinking about getting a divorce. She might have problems you don't know about, and that might be why she's shutting you out and treating you like that. Just try to be nice and understanding toward her."

"I am mom! That's what I've been doing, and nothing's helping!"

"Well, I'm sorry, you'll just have to keep trying."

I sighed. I wasn't getting out of this…

"Oh and by the way, your father and I are going out tonight. We're visiting a recording studio and meeting with some producers and stuff, so we won't be back until late."

"Wait, so I'm literally stuck with Kat all alone!?"

"Riker, it'll be fine! Trust me."

As I walked away, I rolled my eyes at my mom. I was really annoyed.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"Bye Riker, we'll see you later!" Called my mom.

I was officially alone with Kat. Well not exactly… She was taking a shower right now, so I had a little bit of time before I had to deal with her. I was extremely jealous of my siblings right now, going on rides, eating junk food… I heard the shower turn off. Great… She was a fast showerer… All of a sudden, I heard Kat scream.

"Kat!?"

No answer.

"KAT!?"

I ran up the stairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Kat are you ok!?"

"Riker?"

"Yeah? What?"

"There's a spider!"

"So?"

"I need you to kill it!"

I was terrified of spiders…

"What? Can't you kill it?"

"NO!"

"Ok, I'm coming in…"

Kat was standing in the bathtub with a towel wrapped around her.

"W-where is it?" I asked.

Kat pointed to one of the corners of the ceiling. I looked up. There was a big, black, creepy looking spider with long legs just hanging out up there.

"Oh…"

"Kill it!"

"I can't reach it!"

"Get a chair!"

I walked out of the bathroom and returned with a chair, a plastic cup, and a piece of paper. I was planning on putting the cup over it, and sliding the paper underneath so I wouldn't have to touch it. Kat was still standing in the bathtub, looking almost as terrified as I did.

I slowly stood up on the chair, distancing my head a little ways away from the spider. This was all going to have to be one swift motion… I slammed the cup into the ceiling, missed, and jumped backwards off the chair when the spider fell – towards me.

"AHHH!" I screamed.

From the ground, I crawled backwards to the bathtub as fast as I could, away from where I had seen the spider fall.

"Do you see it?" I asked.

"No! Weren't you watching it!?"

"I was too busy trying to get away from it!" I shouted back.

Kat and I were now trapped in the bathroom. The spider had fallen somewhere between us and the door. One of the scariest feelings, was knowing there was a spider in the same room as you, but not knowing where it was.

"Well what do we do now?" I asked.

"Well I would like to get dressed."

Kat grabbed her clothes, and closed the shower curtain. I stayed on the ground, still staring at the floor, looking for the spider.

Kat opened the shower curtain, got out, and stood next to me.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?"

"I'm not going to stay in this bathroom with you forever! We might not ever find the spider!"

Kat ran out the door, and I followed as quickly as I could. We returned to the living room, and Kat put her clothes in one of her bags. She took out her laptop, and I realized I had left my laptop at my dad's office. It had stuff like tour dates and times planned out on it, and Rocky had wanted to discuss some of that when he came home tonight. I knew it was a longshot, but I decided to ask Kat if we could go get it.

"Hey Kat?" I asked, nervously.

"Yeah?" Kat answered, sounding like she thought I was stupid.

"I was wondering if we could run out and grab my laptop from my dad's office. It's only like 10 minutes away, and I really need it."

"Fine… At least we'll be away from the spider…"

YES! I grabbed my dad's keys, and my car keys, and waited for Kat to grab her shoes before locking the door and leaving. We got in my car, and started driving.

"Ugh, ok maybe a little longer than 5 minutes…" I said, slowing down behind the long line of cars.

"What?"

"I think there's an accident up there."

"Ugh!"

Kat's phone beeped, and she looked at it. Even though it was dark, I could see she had a weird expression on her face, and something wasn't right.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Fine…"

Kat turned her phone off, and looked out the window. I wondered if it had something to do with her parents or the divorce.

The traffic soon got back to a normal speed, and we arrived at my dad's office building. Kat followed me to the door, which I unlocked, and then to the elevator. We got inside, and I pushed the button for floor 7. The doors closed, and we started going up. Halfway up, we stopped, and the lights shut off, leaving us in total darkness.

"What's going on!?" Kat shouted.

"I-I don't know!" I replied.

The emergency light came on, and we could see a little bit now. I tried pushing some buttons, but there was no power, and nothing happened, not even when I pushed the red button at the bottom for emergencies. I turned back to Kat, not really knowing what else to do. Kat was sitting on the ground with her legs out in front of her, leaning against the wall.

"Ummm…" I said.

Kat sighed.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck in here for?" Kat asked.

"I don't know… Wait, does your phone have reception? I forgot mine…"

"Ugh, no bars."

Great. Just great…

Kat leaned her head against the side of the wall, staring off into nowhere.

"Kat, are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah…"

"Are you sure?"

Kat started crying.

"My parents are getting a divorce!"

Kat covered her face with her hands. I immediately sat down next to her, our shoulders touching.

"Kat, I'm _so_ sorry!"

"They've been talking about it for so long now, but I never thought they'd actually do it!" Kat said, turning to face me.

I held out my arms, and Kat accepted my hug, crying into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry! I've been a jerk to you, and you've been so nice!" Kat said, upset.

"Kat, it's ok. Just try to calm down…"

"But my parents are separating!" Kat cried.

"I know… Just breathe…"

Kat held onto me tighter as her breath got steadier. Eventually, Kat pulled away, and leaned against the elevator wall again.

"I'm sorry, I'm such an idiot!" Said Kat.

"No you're not!"

"I'm talking to a guy I barely know about my parents getting a divorce. I shouldn't be here. I should be in my own house, with Cody, with both of my parents, all getting along and doing something fun together," said Kat standing up.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting out of here."

Kat was able to pry the elevator doors open. We were at a random floor about a foot off the ground. She held the doors open for me, and we both jumped down.

"Let's just get your laptop, and we can get out of here," said Kat.

Kat followed me to the stairs, and we walked until we saw the door for floor 7. I found my dad's office, unlocked the door, and grabbed my laptop that was still sitting on his desk where I had left it. I locked the door behind me, and we started walking down the many flights of stairs.

"Wait, hold on. I'm out of breath," said Kat, sitting down at the start of another flight of stairs.

I sat down next to her.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Physically, I will be in a minute. Mentally, not at all…"

I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a side hug.

"It'll be ok," I said.

"How can you say that!? You don't know what this is like for me!"

"I can tell you're a strong person Kat, and I know you can make it through this."

"Oh yeah right. Breaking down in an elevator!"

"Everyone has those moments."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Kat got up, and continued down the stairs. I followed. We got in my car, and started heading home.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to do me favor."

"What?"

"I'm not ready to go back yet. I just… don't want to see Cody. Mom and dad probably texted him, and they're probably home now. I'm just not ready to deal with that just yet. I don't know what I'm asking you to do. I just…"

"No, I totally get it. Here, let me take you out to this diner I know of," I said, turning the car around.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We can stay there as long as you need to."

"Thank you…"

Driving to the diner, I honestly didn't know what to think! This was such a completely different side of Kat, and it was weird! But I could see she was breaking inside, and I felt really bad. I pulled into the parking lot and we got out and walked into the diner. Kat chose a table in the back.

"I'll be right back. I just want to fix my makeup and stuff," said Kat, walking to the bathroom.

When the waitress came, I ordered us both vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate. There weren't a lot of people in the diner, so our order came before Kat even came back.

"I ordered you some ice cream," I said when Kat returned.

"Thanks…"

Kat sat down across from me, and took small bites of her ice cream. She didn't really say much. She just kind of stared at the table.

"Are you ok?"

"No. I'm really not. And if you don't force me to go back to your house at some point, I won't leave this diner. Our family's a mess, and usually Cody looks up to me on how to act in certain situations. I need to be strong for him, but-"

"Kat, we're not going anywhere until you're ready. Just relax."

Kat looked up at me. There were tears streaming down her face.

"I just… don't even know anymore…"

"Know what?"

"How to do this!"

"Do what?"

"Live a normal life! When my grandmother died, it felt like my life was falling apart and there was nothing I could do to fix it. It feels exactly like that now, only worse…"

I didn't even know what to say anymore.

"Can we just leave? I just want to get this over with. There is no way I'm going to be able to do this calmly, and I just have to accept that. Let's just go. I'm wasting your time…"

"Are you sure? You're not wasting my time."

"No. Let's just go. I just want this day to be over."

After I paid, we got in my car, and Kat started crying. Hard. Her breathing was so unsteady, and she was shaking like crazy.

"Whoa Kat, calm down. Everything's going to be ok!"

I wanted to wait for Kat to be somewhat calm before I left. Her breathing was getting slower now.

"How can you say everything's going to be ok!?"

"Kat, I'll help you through this. You're not alone! I can help you talk to Cody if you want."

"You'd do that for me!?"

"Of course I would."

"But I've been nothing but a jerk to you!"

"Kat, it's ok."

All of a sudden, Kat turned to me, reached over, and put her hand around my neck. We both leaned in, and kissed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Riker POV**

Kat immediately pulled away.

"I don't know why I did that!" Kat shouted.

"It's ok! Calm down!"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking!"

"Kat, it's ok. You're very confused right now with your parents and everything, I know."

"Please just drive me back."

"Ok."

I drove all the way home in complete silence. Kat did nothing but sit completely still, and stare straight ahead at the road.

"Kat?" I asked, shutting the car off.

"Please don't talk to me."

"They're not home yet."

"They're not!?"

"No. Rocky's car isn't here."

Kat sighed. I unlocked the front door, and we went inside. Kat flopped on the couch, and I sat next to her.

"Can we talk about what just happened?" I asked.

"Why?" Said Kat, angrily.

"Because I just want to know why you kissed me."

"Hey, you kissed me back!"

"I know. I just want to know why you kissed me first."

"I don't know! I don't want to talk about this!"

"Do you like me?"

"Yes!"

Kat looked horrified, got up, and ran out the front door, crying.

"Kat, wait!" I called, running after her.

It was really dark on our street. I could barely see Kat running 30 feet ahead of me. She ran all the way to her house, when I finally caught up to her and grabbed her hand, causing her to fall.

"AHH!"

"Oh my gosh! I'm _so_ sorry!"

I knelt on the ground beside her.

"Ugh! My knee's bleeding!"

"Come on, let's go back to my house," I said.

"Riker, I'm _not_ going anywhere with you!"

"Kat, I'm sorry! Please! Come on," I pleaded, pulling her into a standing position.

"Ugh! There is no way I'm walking all the way to your house. My knee is killing me!"

"You're not staying here!"

"I'm going to my house."

"It's locked! Your parents aren't even home!"

"I have a key, stupid!"

Old, mean, unemotional Kat was back.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"How does it feel now?" I asked.

"Bad," said Kat, angrily.

"Still?"

"Well if you hadn't tripped me, I'd be fine!

Kat and I were sitting in her bedroom. She was holding ice to her knee.

"Kat?"

"What?"

"Do you really have feelings for me?"

Kat just stared at her knee.

"Please answer me!"

"Yes, I do. Happy? I said it. After my mom gets back, you won't ever have to see me again, and you can just forget all about me!"

"Kat-"

"I know! You think I'm pathetic!

"Kat-"

"And I was mean to you, I know, I know!

"Kat-"

"Please just stop and go home! I just-"

"KAT I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU TOO!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Kat POV**

"Wait, what?" I asked, in shock.

"I have feelings for you too," said Riker, quieter this time.

I looked up at Riker, who was looking down and blushing.

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

"Since when?"

"Tonight…"

"Why?"

"I don't know…"

The room was filled with an awkward silence for a few moments.

"So…" I said.

"What?"

We heard Rocky pull into the driveway. I sighed.

"You're going to be fine Kat. You can do this," said Riker.

"What!? You said you'd help me!"

"I will."

Cody came stomping in the room before anyone else.

"Kat, I need to talk to you. Now," he demanded.

I grabbed Riker's hand and walked outside with Cody as everyone else filed inside.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You tell me! I can't believe you did that Kat!"

"Did what!?"

Riker was still standing awkwardly behind me, holding my hand.

"You're the reason for our parents splitting!" Cody yelled as he ran back inside.

I burst into tears and fell to the ground. Riker knelt next to me, and I cried into his shoulder as he rubbed my back.

"Kat, that's not true," said Riker.

"I don't even know what he's talking about!" I screamed.

"Shhh. Everything's going to be alright."

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

I walked into my bedroom, and dimmed the lights. Kat was laying in Rocky's bed, looking at me. With everything going on, Rocky was letting Kat sleep in his bed, so that she could get away from Cody. And I was rooming with her, so she wouldn't be alone, and it was my room too.

"What did he say?" Kat asked.

"Well first, Cody said he wanted me to tell you he was sorry for exploding at you like that. And second, your dad called him. Apparently all he said was that they were getting a divorce, and it was because of you and your mom. I asked him why, but apparently your dad hung up, and never told him," I said.

I walked over to Kat and gave her a hug as she started crying again. Suddenly, Cody came running through the door.

"KAT!" He screamed.

"What?"

"Dad's here!"

"What!?"

"He wants to take me to Florida with him! I'm not leaving you and mom! I need help! He's furious!"

"He can't take you away like that!"

Kat and Cody both ran down the stairs and out the front door to their dad's car.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"Why did he let Cody stay?" I asked.

"Well when we brought up that he hadn't even finished the school year, that kind of helped convince him I guess," Kat replied from Rocky's bed.

"Ok, good."

"Yeah… I guess…"

"Did anything else happen?"

"Not really… I mean… Never mind…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Nothing else happened."

"Ok. Well if you ever want to talk about it, I'll always listen."

Kat looked up at me.

"Thanks."

**The Next Morning…**

**Riker POV**

I woke up the next morning, thinking about last night. There had to be something Kat didn't tell me about last night… Seeing her breaking inside was making me fall for her even more. I wanted to ask her out on a date, but I wasn't sure if she would accept. She was going through a lot right now, and she might just try to forget she even said anything, knowing she can switch personalities between total emotionless jerk and real person. I just wasn't even sure what to do right now…

"RIKER!"

I looked next to me.

"What!?"

"I've been calling your name for the past 2 minutes. What were you thinking about?" Asked Kat.

"What? Nothing. I'm just tired," I said, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Ok. Well I'm going to go downstairs and grab some breakfast. You coming?"

"Yeah."

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"You're going _back_ to the carnival!?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, totally! One of their rides is having a grand opening tonight at 8:00!" Shouted Rocky, completely excited.

"Kat?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Kat replied, obvious uninterested.

"Did you want to go to the carnival tonight?" I asked.

"I really don't. Please don't make me…"

"It's fine, I won't. Just wondering…"

Well I was staying home with her again tonight then… I wasn't sure whether or not to be happy or upset. I liked Kat, but I didn't know where this was going exactly…

"Riker!" Rocky yelled, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Are you coming tonight?"

"No, I'm staying home with Kat," I said.

"Oh, ok… Well come on guys, let's get ready to leave. If we're early, we can get a closer spot in line!" Said Rocky.

Everyone except me and Kat got up and went upstairs.

"Look, I'm sorry you have to stay home with me, but I just don't like that kind of stuff!" Said Kat, almost as if she could read my mind.

"It's fine, Kat. I don't mind, really."

"Ok. Thanks…"

All of a sudden, everyone came racing down the stairs, and out the door.

"Bye Riker! Bye Kat!" Rocky shouted, running out the door, and locking it behind him.

Well this would be an interesting night…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Riker POV**

After Kat took a shower, she came downstairs and sat down on the couch next to me.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey…? What?" Kat asked.

"Nothing. Just hey. What did you want to do tonight?"

"I don't know. Something more interesting than sitting on this couch would be nice."

And there's the jerk side of her again… Whatever… I know she's hurting inside…

"Well we could play a board game, watch a movie, go somewhere… Whatever you want," I said.

"Uh, board game I guess…"

She seemed totally uninterested. Whatever…

I got up and walked over to the closet. I pulled out a few board games, and put them on the coffee table in front of Kat, who was too busy looking at her phone to even look at the games.

"Kat?"

"…yeah…?"

"Pick a game."

"…uh…ok fine, how about monopoly…?"

"Ok."

Great. A really long game. Looking forward to your grumpiness… I put the other games back up in the closet, and carried monopoly over to the kitchen table.

"You coming?" I called into the living room.

"Yeah, just a sec…"

Kat came into the kitchen a few minutes later, thankfully, without her phone. Not that I didn't want her texting anyone. It just made it kind of annoying. Even though it seems like it would be easier having her ignore me, it would be more annoying to me… I would rather have her attention and be grumpy, than not have her attention, and not talking to me. I know, weird… I just hoped this night would go smoother than yesterday… Little did I know, I was about to get sucked into Kat's world…

"Uh, you roll first," I said, starting the game.

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Ugh, why is monopoly such a long game!? I was getting bored. Riker wasn't really saying much, we had been sitting here for over an hour, and neither of us was really doing better than the other.

"Can we take a break?" I asked, sighing.

"Yeah, sure."

"Good, because I'm really hungry," I said.

"Me too. What do you want?"

"What do you got?"

"Ice cream," said Riker, a slightly evil smile creeping across his face.

"Sure."

Riker scooped us each a bowl of chocolate ice cream. We sat back down at the kitchen table. One of the kitchen lights flickered, then went out. Riker got up, and got another lightbulb from a cabinet.

"How many Lynchs does it take to change a lightbulb?" I asked, laughing a little.

"Ha ha, very funny," said Riker, smirking.

He got a chair, brought it over, and started unscrewing the dead lightbulb. It fell, shattering all over the floor.

"HA! It takes _more_ than one Lynch to safely replace a lightbulb!" I shouted.

"Oh shut up," said Riker, screwing in the new lightbulb.

Riker put the chair back, and sat down across from me again.

"Aren't you going to clean that up?" I asked.

"I'll clean it up later."

"Ok…?"

I continued eating my ice cream, but I noticed Riker kept looking at me strangely.

"Ok, what is it? Is there like ice cream on my nose or something?" I asked.

"No…"

"Then what is it?"

"Are you ok? Well, actually, don't answer that. I know you're not. I just want to know what's going on," Riker blurted out.

"What!? What do you mean?"

"With your parents and everything, you're not ok! And not to be rushing things or anything, but we both admitted to having feelings for each other, and you haven't said anything since! You seem completely uninterested in monopoly, and I don't understand why you didn't just want to go to the carnival! You don't have to go on the rides if that's what this is about! You could have just eaten cotton candy or played games or something! But no, we're both stuck here, playing a stupid board game, in awkward silence!" Riker exploded.

My eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry! I totally didn't mean to say all that!" Riker shouted.

"It's ok," I said.

"No, that was wrong. I wasn't thinking. I don't know what came over me." Said Riker, looking down.

"No. I've been a jerk. You deserve to know why," I said.

Was I really about to tell him what was going on? Yup. I guess I was…

"You're absolutely right. Everything's not ok. I don't know exactly everything going on with my parents and everything. But for right now, that doesn't matter, because they're not even back yet. And about the whole carnival and dating thing… Well… Uh… I used to have this boyfriend… His name was Tyson. He was just a bad person in general... He took me out to this carnival one time. There was this rollercoaster. He was being really unsafe, and he didn't want to put the bar all the way down. You know, the one that goes over your lap? We almost both died. Halfway through, I ended up freaking out and yelling at him, and he finally let me pull the bar down to where it was supposed to be. But I've been scared to go back ever since. And we ended up breaking up after that. I know it was good that we broke up, because he was a really bad influence on me, but I just don't know if I'm ready to start dating again, and that's why I didn't really say anything since last night. I'm sorry…" I said, hoping Riker would understand.

"Oh my gosh. Kat, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I-"

"It's ok," I said, cutting Riker off.

Riker got up, and gave me a hug. It felt so good to hug someone that actually cared about me. I loved that feeling. Maybe I _should_ date Riker… Hmmm… I just don't know though…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Riker POV**

"Uhhh… Well I should probably clean up that lightbulb before my parents get home, otherwise I'll be in big trouble!" I said, breaking the awkward silence.

"I'll help," said Kat, standing up.

After we cleaned up the glass, we sat back down at the kitchen table.

"So what do you want to do now?" Kat asked.

"Well we still have a few hours before everyone else comes back, so… ummm… I don't know… What do you want to do?"

Kat got up suddenly and went into the living room. She came running back in a few seconds later, freaking out.

"Have you seen my iPhone!?" Kat asked.

"What? No, why?"

"I need it in case one of my parents needs to call me about something!"

"Wait, why couldn't they just call Cody?"

"Ugh, he's a _guy_! They can't trust him!"

"Wait, why is this so important?"

"Riker, they're my parents!"

"You're acting like this is life or death! I'm just confused!"

"Look, I can't tell you anything! But we need to find my phone!"

"Kat-"

"Come on! We need to find it! Stop standing around!"

I watched Kat fling pillows off the couch, desperately searching for her phone. Tears were streaming down her face as she collapsed on the ground, sobbing. I knelt down next to her, and pulled her into my arms.

"Kat?" I asked softly.

"Kat, please. Tell me what this is about," I pleaded.

"You remember when Cody and I went outside earlier to talk?"

I could just barely understand her. Her voice was so scratchy.

"Yeah?"

"Well, he took my phone. He's been completely brainwashed by my dad! He's gone absolutely mental! He's convinced that my mom and I did something, caused the divorce, and…"

"What? Kat, go on, please!"

"He said once he cracked my password, he was going to erase everything! That's where all my pictures are of mom, dad, me, Cody… I can't lose them!"

"They're not on your laptop?"

"No! I just got my laptop a few days ago. My old one crashed, and my mom is paying for some guy to try to retrieve everything. It had all my pictures! But if he can't, and Cody erases everything, I'll have nothing left! Even if my parents split up, I still want to remember what my life was like before."

"Wait, so why are you looking for your phone? Doesn't Cody have it?"

"No. After he took it from me, I saw him hide it in his bag. When he went upstairs to Ross's room, I stole it back. But now I don't know where it is!"

"Where do you last remember putting it?"

"In my back pocket."

"When?"

"When I stole it back from Cody."

"Was it still in your pocket when you took a shower?"

Kat rummaged through her bags for a minute, still not finding her phone.

"If he stole it back and erased everything, I'm going to kill him!" Kat shouted angrily.

"Are you sure he would really do that? You and him seem pretty close."

"We were. But I guess not anymore…"

"Well where was Cody today? Like I mean where around the house? What rooms? Maybe he found it and hid it somewhere. We could look."

"Uh… He was is Ross's room, the bathroom, living room, and kitchen, and then he left for the carnival."

"Ok, I'll check Ross's room and the bathroom, you check the kitchen and living room."

After spending about an hour searching, neither of us had found Kat's iPhone, and I could tell she was on the verge of losing it completely.

"What am I going to do!?" Kat cried.

"Wait! Didn't he go outside?"

"When?"

"When he, Ross, Rocky, and Ellington played football. Remember?"

"YES! We have to go check!"

Kat and I ran out the back door, accidentally slamming it behind us.

"Wait, we should probably get flashlights. I can't see anything out here," I said.

I walked back to the back door, and tried twisting the doorknob, but couldn't. Locked. Great.

"H-hey Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh, we're locked out…"

"We're what!?"

"Yeah, I forgot. The door locks behind us."

"Well isn't there a spare key for the front door?"

I gasped.

"No! Not anymore! I never put it back from the other night!"

"So we're stuck out here!?"

"I guess so…"

"UGH! Do you have your car keys?"

"No, they're inside…"

"UGHHH!"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking!"

"No phone, no house, no warmth! What's next!?" Kat shouted, pacing around my yard.

I realized this was a bit of a bad situation. We were both wearing short sleeved shirts and shorts, and the temperature was dropping. We had just entered spring, so it was still pretty cold at night. This wasn't good…

I walked around to the front of the house and sat on the front steps. Kat followed and sat next to me.

"What am I going to do!?" Kat asked, crying again.

"We'll figure that out when they come home," I said.

"My life is just falling apart right before my eyes…"

As I put my arm around Kat, she turned to lay her head in my lap, shivering. I gently ran my fingers through her hair as she cried.

**1 Hour Later…**

**Riker POV**

Kat was now sitting in my lap. I had my arms around her, trying to keep us both warm. Kat got up suddenly.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to try to break into your house."

"You're what!? Kat wait!"

Kat turned to the door and twisted the doorknob, while pulling hard. She flew backwards into me, and we both fell down the front steps. Kat landed on top of me, elbowing me hard in the ribs.

"OW!" I shouted.

"The freaking door was unlocked!" Kat shouted, standing up.

I just looked at her, still from the ground. I didn't even know what to say.

"The front door unlocked, and you didn't even know!? It shouldn't have been! We could've gotten murdered or something!"

I couldn't believe it. She was mad I had left the door unlocked. Sure it was an accident, but now we could go inside! She should be happy I accidentally left it unlocked! She was just unbelievable!

I got up and walked inside after Kat, leaning over, still in pain. I LOCKED THE DOOR, and then sat down next to Kat on the couch. She had her arms crossed and was staring straight ahead, avoiding my eyes.

"Kat-"

"Don't even. I just want to go to bed."

"It's barely 8:30!"

"I don't care Riker! I've had an exhausting day, and I WANT TO GO TO BED!"

I got up and went into the kitchen. I didn't know how much more of her I could take. I hated how she switched between two different people.

I tried to calm myself down, and not let my anger get the better of me. But my ribs still really hurt, and that wasn't helping… I pulled my shirt up and saw a big purple bruise forming, so I got up and got some ice for it. I walked back into the living room where Kat was laying on top of her sleeping bag, crying again. I went and sat down next to her.

"Kat, it'll be fine. We'll get your phone back," I said.

Kat sat up and looked at me.

"What happened?" She asked, pointing to my stomach.

"You elbowed me when we fell. It still really hurts," I said.

"Sorry…"

"It wasn't really your fault."

"What do you mean!? I caused us both to fall!"

"Well yeah, but you didn't know the door was unlocked."

"You're going to keep going on and on until I finally agree it wasn't my fault aren't you?"

Was it that obvious?

"Uh, yeah…"

Kat laughed.

"You're ridiculous."

"I just don't want you to feel bad!"

Kat laughed again.

"Why? It was my fault, and now you're hurt because of me."

"Kat, I'm fine. It's not really a big deal. Come on, let's watch a movie. You need a break from everything."

"Ok."

I turned on the TV, and put on Netflix. I picked a random movie, sat down in my sleeping bag next to Kat, and leaned against the couch.

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

About halfway through the movie, Riker did that stupid fake yawn thing and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Really Riker?"

"What?" Riker asked, playing dumb.

"You know what, stupid," I said, grabbing the hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Riker, trying not to smile.

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever."

We both had gone back to watching the movie, but were interrupted a few minutes later by everyone coming back home… Except Cody…

"Hey! We're back!" Rocky shouted, turning on the lights.

Riker paused the movie and we looked toward them.

"Oh, sorry. Were we interrupting something?" Rocky asked.

"No!" I shouted, surprised.

"Oh, well ok."

"Where's Cody?" I asked.

"Oh… Uh… Your dad came for him. He's uh… In Florida…"

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, but he's coming back next week to pack everything up. I'm so sorry Kat. There wasn't much we could do. Oh, and he wanted me to give you this," said Rocky handing me my phone.

"Rocky, do you think I could sleep in your room again tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure."

**Riker POV**

I could tell Kat was trying to keep it together. I helped her grab her stuff, and we walked upstairs to mine and Rocky's room together. I flopped down on my bed, and turned to Kat.

"I'm sorry about Cody," I said.

"Nah, maybe it's good he's not here. I mean, I love him, but maybe we needed a break from each other. I just wish my mom was back. I just want to be home again, not that I don't like being at your house. I just wish I could be home, you know?"

"Yeah. I totally understand what you mean. If you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here."

Kat looked down at her feet.

"Can we just go to bed now?"

"Yeah," I said, turning the light off.

I heard Kat get into Rocky's bed. I closed my eyes, and immediately fell asleep. I was exhausted.

**3:30 AM**

**Riker POV**

"Riker! Riker!"

I turned over in bed, looking in the direction of Rocky's bed, but I didn't see anything because the room was pitch black.

"Riker!" Kat whispered again.

"What?"

"I just turned on my phone. Cody erased everything! Everything's gone!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Riker POV**

I could hear Kat starting to cry again. I dragged myself out of bed, and over to Rocky's, sitting down next to Kat.

"Have you been up all night?" I asked.

"Yeah! I couldn't sleep! My dad and brother are gone, my mom isn't coming home for another week, and I don't know what I'm going to do!"

"Shhh. It's going to be ok. That guy still might be able to retrieve your pictures from your old laptop."

"I hope so!"

"Wait. Did you say your mom wasn't coming home for another week!?"

"Yeah. She texted me and told me to go back home tomorrow. She doesn't want your parents to have to look after me, and she says I'll be fine without Cody or her. But I'm terrified to spend the night alone! I could get murdered by someone!"

"I'm sure there's some way we can work something out. One of us could stay the night with you every night or you could just stay over here. It'll be fine. You won't be alone."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Even if I have to go over your house every night, I'd do it."

"Aww! Really?"

I think I was finally breaking the tough side of Kat, and she was letting me in to her softer side. But even if I wasn't, I knew I was doing something right because she wasn't constantly screaming at me anymore.

"Of course Kat! I… I love you."

"I love you too…"

I wrapped my arms around Kat, and pulled her into a hug.

"Come on. We should probably go to bed," I said, finding my way back to my own bed in the dark.

"Ok, goodnight."

"Goodnight Kat."

**The Next Morning…**

**Riker POV**

Kat had gone back to her house this morning. She was determined to stay home alone until 11:00 every night because she felt guilty about making us stay over. Tonight, I was staying over. I was actually really nervous though because I was planning on asking her out tonight, and if that didn't go over well, and I was staying the night with her, things could get pretty bad.

"Why do _you_ look so fancy?" Rocky asked, walking into our bedroom and raising his eyebrows.

"No reason," I replied.

"Black skinny jeans, a dress shirt, and tie? Come on, tell me!"

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone else."

"I won't."

"I'm going to ask Kat out."

"_Ooh_! Really!?"

"Yeah…? Why are you so surprised?"

"Well the other night, I forget exactly what happened, but we came home and I was like "Were we interrupting something?" And Kat was like "no!" And I don't know. I guess she just seemed disgusted or something."

"Really? I don't remember that!"

"Yeah, but I mean, maybe she was just surprised. I don't know. I think you should ask her out though. She's going through a lot right now, and she needs someone like you to help her through all this."

"Really? Do you think she'd say yes?"

"I honestly don't know. But you won't know unless you ask."

"Alright. I guess I will then. Thanks Rocky."

"For what?"

"Convincing me that I should go through with this."

"Oh. Well you're welcome."

I laughed as I walked into the bathroom, fixed my hair one last time, and nervously walked down the street towards Kat's house. My heart was racing so fast by the time I had reached Kat's house. My fingers were even shaking as I rung her doorbell.

**Kat POV**

It was 4:00. No one was supposed to be here until 11:00. I walked down the stairs and unlocked the door to find Riker standing outside.

"H-hey Kat," said Riker.

What was _he_ nervous about?

"Hey…?"

"I was uh… Wondering if you'd uh… Like to go out… On a date with me… Tonight?"

"_You_ want to take _me_ on a date!?"

"Uh… yeah."

Riker was practically dying. It was actually quite funny to watch. He was standing in front of me shaking, his face was red, and he was nervously playing with the bottom of his tie. I wanted to see what would happen if I made him stand there longer, but I wasn't that mean.

"Ok then…?" I said, agreeing.

"Really!?"

"Yeah sure, why not."

"Ok! I'll pick you up at 5:00."

"Ok," I said, closing the door.

Well this would be interesting…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Kat POV**

After I had closed the door, I realized I should probably change into something nicer. I mean, Riker was wearing a tie, so I had to wear something better than shorts and a T-shirt. I walked up the stairs to my bedroom, wondering what I would wear. I wasn't really a skirt or dress person, so I would have to work with what I had… Hmmm…

**Riker POV**

I ran upstairs to my room, excited and completely freaking out.

"Dude, what'd she say?" Rocky asked.

"SHE SAID YES!" I shouted.

"Whoa, ok, calm down, stop jumping! It feels like an earthquake!"

"I seriously didn't think she was going to say yes! This is amazing!"

"Wow. I did _not_ know you were _this_ in love with her!"

Neither did I… I didn't realize how much I loved her until now.

"I have to go talk to Rydel. I'll see you later!" I called, walking out of my room and into Rydel's.

"Rydel, I need to ask you something really important!"

"Sure, what's up?"

"What's like a good restaurant to take a girl out to on a date?"

"Around here?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. We just moved here."

"Can you look some up for me?"

"Riker, you have a laptop, why don't you look them up?"

"Because I'm not good at knowing good places to go to for dates!"

"Fine, I'll help…"

**45 Minutes Later…**

**Riker POV**

I parked my car in Kat's driveway and got out. I was so nervous as I walked up to her front door. Kat came out, locked the door, and turned to me.

"Wow. You look beautiful," I said, walking Kat to my car and opening the door for her.

She was wearing black skinny jeans just like me, and a really pretty deep blue flowy top.

"Thanks."

I got in my car, and drove to the restaurant I was taking her to. It was this Italian place called Janie's.

"So where are we going?" Kat asked.

"It's a surprise," I said.

"Fine."

We arrived at Janie's and got seated. Kat and I decided we were going to split a plate of pasta.

"So why'd you ask me out?" Kat asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I like you, and you like me, so that's kind of why. But… I don't know. I just… Thought it felt right…"

Kat laughed.

"Ok."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's sweet."

Suddenly, Kat leaned across the table and kissed my cheek, making me blush. Kat laughed.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

We were back at Kat's house for the night, and were sitting in her bedroom, watching a movie. The date had gone surprisingly well. Kat even decided to make it official that I was her boyfriend, and changed her status on social media.

**Kat POV**

I was leaning against Riker, trying to focus on the movie, but couldn't. All I could think about was our date. Tonight was the first night in a long time, that I can say I actually had fun. Something was different with Riker, and he seemed to be able to completely take my mind off everything that was stressing me out. I could forget about my problems when I was with him. I was still a little bit worried though. I don't know if I can take another break up. My last one was hard enough, and with everything else going on, it would be too much. But, that didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon, so I pushed those thoughts out of my head.

I grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

"Snack break!" I said, causing Riker to jump slightly.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"Are you sure you're ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, positive. Why do you keep asking me?" Asked Kat.

"Because… You just seem uneasy about something."

Kat looked down. I knew there was something!

"Come on, you can tell me," I said.

"I'm just… I'm not doubting _us_. I'm just afraid of the break up. I'm afraid of the things that could go wrong. I'm afraid of getting hurt…"

"Kat, I would never hurt you."

"Really?"

"Of course not!"

"Promise?"

"I promise, I would never hurt you," I said, hugging her.

Little did I know, I'd be breaking that promise.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**A Few Days Later…**

**Kat POV**

How could he do this to me!?

I was laying on top of my bed crying harder than I ever had before. The words just replayed over and over again from mine and Ross's conversation just a few minutes ago.

_"__Hey Ross, is Riker home?" I asked._

_"__Uh no. He went to a restaurant to meet this girl. I think her name was Jess…?" Said Ross._

_"__Why?"_

_"__I don't know. He ran out the door before I could ask him. But he was dressed all fancy, so it must have been important."_

_"__Well thanks anyways…"_

He even _promised_ he'd never hurt me! He promised! And what's the first thing he does? He goes out with another girl! Unbelievable!

**Riker POV**

"So when will the article get published?" I asked.

"2 weeks," said Jess.

"Ok, cool. Thanks for interviewing me."

"Well thanks for meeting me, and letting me interview you."

I drove home thinking about the interview. I think I did a pretty good job answering her questions...

I pulled into my driveway and almost crashed into Ross and Rocky as they came running out. I slammed on the brakes, hurting my ribs from the other night. I sighed, parked the car, and got out. Rocky was chasing Ross around the yard, and normally I would stop them, but I didn't have the energy.

Kat and I were having a movie night since I was staying with her tonight. Yesterday Rydel had slept over, and apparently Kat has a new favorite movie now. I walked inside, made myself a sandwich, and headed to my bedroom to get ready for our movie night, but my phone rang, and I was interrupted.

"Hello?"

"Riker? It's Kat. I was just calling to let you know that I'm staying at my cousin's house tonight, so we can't do our movie night."

"Why are you staying at your cousin's?"

"Well my aunt needed a babysitter tonight, and my cousin loves me to death, so my aunt invited me to just spend the night."

"Ok, well then what about tomorrow night? Can we reschedule for then instead?"

"I don't know yet. I'll call you later."

**Kat POV**

Did that sound fake? I hope not. I was curious to see if he would even tell me he was cheating on me before I blew up at him. But there was no way I was letting him stay the night. Sure I was a little freaked out about being alone all night, but I had gotten used to it being just 2 people. Being completely alone probably wouldn't be much different.

It was starting to get dark already, so I went to the kitchen, grabbed some snacks, and locked myself in my room for the night. If I was locked in my room, there was no chance of me getting murdered, right? Unless of course, the murderer has a gun or something…

Don't think about that!

I put Netflix on, and sat in my bed, eating Doritos. I started crying again, thinking about what Riker had done to me. I really thought he was different. He made me feel things I've never felt before. He could take me to a completely different world. But now, all of that was gone!

**Riker POV**

Well now what do I do? No plans anymore… Hmmm…

I decided to go skateboarding. I practiced jumps in my driveway until Rocky came out.

"Why aren't you at Kat's?"

"She's at her cousin's house tonight."

"Oh. Well then you get to hang with us tonight!"

"Rocky, why do you have that creepy smile on your face!?"

"Because Ross just bought this new scary movie, and I know scary movies aren't really your thing, and we're _so_ watching it tonight!"

"Great…"

**2:30 AM**

**Kat POV**

I was immediately woken up by noises downstairs. Almost sounded like… footsteps… I freaked out as quietly as someone could possibly freak out, grabbed my phone, and hid in my closet. Who do I call!? Suddenly, there was a crash downstairs, and I called the first person I could think of. Riker. It wouldn't matter that I was mad at him if I were dead!

Come on, pick up the phone Riker!

"Hello?" Riker answered, obviously still half asleep.

"Riker!? You need to come over right now! There's someone in my house!" I whispered frantically.

"Isn't your aunt home?"

"No! Not my aunt's house! My house! Down the street from yours!"

"What are you doing _there_?"

"Riker, I don't have time for questions, you need to come over here _now_ before something happens!"

"I'll be right over!"

Well he sounded more awake, so that was good. But would he get here soon enough?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **

**Riker POV**

I tumbled down the stairs, landing flat on my back at the bottom. I yanked the front door open, and sprinted down the road towards Kat's house. Why was she home alone? She was supposed to be at her cousin's house…

When I got to the front door, it was unlocked. I slowly opened it, being quiet in case there really was someone in here with us. I crept up the stairs to Kat's bedroom, slowly opened her door, and walked in. The lights were off, and I couldn't really see much.

"Kat!?" I whispered.

Kat opened the closet door, came over to me, and hugged me.

"Riker, someone's in the house."

"How do you know?"

"I heard footsteps, and then glass shattering."

"Ok, get back in the closet. I'm going to see if I can hear anything."

"Didn't you see anyone when you got here!?"

"No."

As Kat went back into the closet, I walked over to her door, and cracked it open. Suddenly, the hall light came on. I ran back to Kat's closet, and got in next to her.

"Someone's here! The hall light came on!" I whispered.

"What do we do!?"

"Call 911!"

"My phone's on my bed! I don't have it!"

Suddenly, we could see a light come on in Kat's bedroom through the closet door crack. I pulled Kat behind me, and we sat on the ground in complete silence, waiting for something to happen.

"Kat?"

"Mom?"

Kat got up, and opened the closet door, revealing her mom.

"What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to get back for 2 more days."

"Plans changed. Who's the guy in your closet?"

"His name's Riker. He's one of the Lynch's kids, and he used to be my boyfriend. When I heard you come in, and glass shattering and stuff, I thought you were a murderer coming to kill me, so I called him."

"Oh, well, thank you for protecting my daughter, Riker."

"You're welcome."

"It's late. I'll see you guys in the morning. I'm going to bed."

And with that, Kat's mom was gone. I grabbed Kat's hand, pulled her downstairs, and out the door.

"What are you doing!?" Kat whispered angrily.

"We need to talk!"

"About what?"

"I _used_ to be your boyfriend?"

"Did I say that?"

"Yeah! You did! Is there something you're not telling me? Are you dating someone else?" I asked, my heart breaking.

"_Me_!? You think _I'm_ dating someone else!? Yeah right! _You're_ the one who's cheating on _me_!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Don't lie to me Riker. I talked to Ross today. You went out to lunch to go meet some girl. That's ridiculous! And in case it wasn't obvious, we're through!"

"Kat wait! This isn't what it looks like!"

"Shut up Riker! Just leave me alone!"

Kat stormed inside, slamming the door behind her. She left me standing in her driveway, my mouth wide open, completely shocked. I had just lost my girlfriend, and I didn't even do anything wrong! I slowly walked back to my house.

I sunk into my bed, silently crying. I could hear Rocky turn over to face me.

"Dude, where were you?"

"Kat's."

"Why?"

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it right now ok?"

"Wait, are you… crying?"

I turned away from him, not that it made much of a difference since the room was dark. I heard Rocky get up from his bed, and I tensed up, knowing he was going to make me talk about it.

"Riker, what happened?" Rocky asked, as he sat down next to me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on Riker, please talk to me! Why'd you go over there? I thought she wasn't home."

"She lied."

"Then why'd you go over there?"

"She thought she was going to get murdered."

"By?"

"The person in her house."

"Is she ok?"

"Yeah. It was her mom."

"Wait, why are you crying? Why'd she lie?"

"She lied because she didn't want me coming over there, and she broke up with me."

"Riker… I'm so sorry… Is there anything I can do?"

"It wasn't even my fault!"

"Shhh! Bro, it's like 4:00. People are sleeping!"

"She thinks I'm cheating on her!"

"Why would she think that?"

"Because Ross told her I went out to lunch with a girl today."

"Well it sounds like you're cheating to me too."

"I wasn't! It was for an interview."

"Oh…"

"What am I going to do, Rocky? I love her, and she hates me!"

"Wait, why'd she call _you_ when she thought she was going to get murdered? Why not the police?"

"I don't know! Why don't you call her and ask her yourself!"

"Ok."

"Rocky, don't!"

"I'm kidding! Come on! You need to talk to her."

"Now!?"

"Yeah! She's probably still awake!"

"No, I can't talk to her tonight!"

I felt Rocky get up. If he was doing what I thought he was doing…

"Rocky give me my phone back!"

I jumped out of bed and ran towards my brother.

"Rocky, give it to me!"

"Hold on, just a little longer!"

"Rocky-"

"Hello? Riker, I really don't want to talk right now," said Kat.

"Kat? It's Rocky."

"Hey Rocky. What's up?"

"Riker misses you. He wants you back."

"Rocky, I swear, if you don't give that phone back to me-"

"Why would he want me back?" Kat asked.

"Because he _loves_ you!"

"Then he shouldn't have cheated on me!"

"He didn't!"

"Yeah he did."

"No, he was meeting a girl earlier today for an interview, not a date."

"Riker told you to tell me that, didn't he?"

"No. Kat-"

"He's got his family trying to cover for him now? That's just low."

"What's low is that you don't believe me!" I screamed.

I slammed Rocky into the wall, grabbed my phone, and went outside.

"Kat, we need to talk. Now. Meet me outside!" I demanded, angrily.

"You're not the boss of me!"

"Kat please! I just need to talk to you!" I said, my heart breaking into pieces now.

Kat hung up, and met me outside her house. We sat down on her front stairs. How do I even start this conversation!?


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Kat POV**

I reluctantly sat down next to Riker, and waited to hear what he was going to make up next. I wasn't buying any of it.

"Kat, look, I wasn't cheating on you! That girl was really interviewing me!"

"Sure she was…"

"Kat really!"

"Then what magazine was it for?"

"Starstruck."

"When's it being published?"

"Like 2 weeks."

"Well then you'll just have to wait until then."

"What!?"

"If in 2 weeks, an article comes out about you in Starstruck, I'll believe you. But if it doesn't, I'll know you're a big fat liar!"

Riker grabbed my wrists, forcefully pulled me up from the front steps, and slammed me hard against my house.

"KAT I'M NOT CHEATING ON YOU AND I'M NOT LYING!" Riker shouted, his face almost touching mine.

"Let me go Riker!"

I ripped my hands from Riker's grip, and ran upstairs to my room. Who did he think he was!?

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

I angrily slammed the door to mine and Rocky's room when I got back.

"So how'd it go?" Rocky asked.

"Bad!"

"Really?"

"Well you didn't help!"

"What happened?"

"She's waiting for the article to get published. She totally didn't believe _anything_ I said."

"Really?"

"Yes Rocky! Do you think I'm making this stuff up!? And the worst part was that I slammed her up against her house! I can't believe I did that! I didn't mean to! I just got so mad!"

"Well when the article gets published, you'll be ok again right?"

"2 WEEKS ROCKY! 2 WEEKS!"

"I don't… really know what to say to that…"

I sighed, flopped down on my bed, and tried to get some sleep. I'd have to try again in the morning…

**Morning…**

**Riker POV**

Rocky practically had to drag me out of bed in the morning. I was exhausted from everything last night. But I could definitely think clearer now although it was hard to control my emotions from my lack of sleep.

"What happened last night?" Rydel asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I heard yelling, stomping, banging, and door slamming."

"Oh. Nothing…"

"Riker-"

"I said it was nothing Rydel!" I screamed.

Rydel turned and ran up the stairs. I sighed.

"Whoa Riker, go easy!" Said Rocky.

"I didn't mean to- whatever… I'm going to Kat's."

"You're not even dressed!"

"I don't care!"

I walked down the street to Kat's in my pajamas. I was determined to get her to believe me. I knocked on her door and her mom answered.

"You're Riker, right?"

"Yeah. Is Kat home?"

"Yeah, she's still sleeping. You can go wake her up though."

"Thanks."

I silently walked up the stairs to Kat's bedroom. Her door was open, so I closed it before walking over to her bed. She looked so cute when she was sleeping. I just wanted _that_ Kat back again.

"Kat?" I said, gently shaking her.

Her eyes snapped open, and she grabbed my wrist.

"What are you doing here!?" She asked angrily.

"You need to believe me!"

"Well I don't and I won't! You hurt me Riker! Lies can't fix how I feel!"

"They're not lies! I swear!"

Kat sat up so she could face me.

"Riker, I don't believe you. I'm sorry."

"Kat-"

"Just go home already! You can't fix this!"

**Kat POV**

"I didn't even do anything wrong!"

"You broke my heart!"

"Well now you're breaking mine!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Kat… Kat I love you. I can't imagine living without you! Now that you hate me… it's just… it's killing me inside!"

Riker started crying and I was so confused! Either he hadn't cheated on me, or he really wanted me back! Ummm… What now?

"Kat please, you _have_ to believe me!"

I just looked down at him. He was kneeling on my floor, holding my hands in his. His adorable hazel eyes were staring straight into mine, pleading. He sure wasn't making this easy…

"Riker, this is shredding me to pieces. With everything going on right now with my family and stuff, and now you… I just don't know if I can."

"So you believe me?"

"I don't know…"

"Kat-"

"Riker, I can't do this!"

"Kat please-"

"I can't date you right now!" I shouted, standing up.

"Kat please! I need you!" Riker said, getting up and following me outside into my backyard.

"Riker, just go home. I can't do this right now."

"Kat, I need you! I never thought in a million years I would end up falling for you. But I did. And now I need you to believe me! I don't care if I can't be your boyfriend anymore, but I need to know that you believe me! I said I would never hurt you, and I still never would! I don't know how this happened, but it wasn't my fault! It was an interview! Why can't you believe that!?"

"Because one of my old boyfriends cheated on me in the beginning of our relationship. I caught him one day, and he lied to me. I believed him when he said he wasn't cheating on me, but I caught him again, and broke up with him. I didn't go to school for 2 weeks. He broke my heart! I wasn't sure if dating you was a good idea because I was afraid of the breakup and the heartbreak! And look what happened!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

"It doesn't matter. My heart is broken, and I don't think you can fix that."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Riker POV**

I wiped my cheeks off, and stared at Kat. I just didn't understand.

"Well what happens in 2 weeks when the article gets published?"

"Riker, give it up already. It's over."

"No! What happens when it comes out in Starstruck magazine? Will you believe me then?"

"I'll have to."

"So there's still hope-"

"I'm not saying I'll get back together with you. I'm just saying I'd have to believe you."

"But why wouldn't you get back together with me?"

"Because I can't go through this again. It's just too much right now. Riker, please go home. I can't talk about this anymore."

I sighed. She was so stubborn! Kat walked past me back to her front door and went inside. I slowly walked into her front yard, and started to head home, but Kat screamed, so I ran inside her house instead.

Kat was kneeling next to her mom, who was lying on the floor, unconscious. I grabbed my phone from my sweatshirt pocket and called 911.

After Kat's mom was taken away in the ambulance, Kat stormed upstairs to her room. I probably shouldn't have, but I followed her.

"Why are you here!?" Kat shouted.

"Kat-"

"Why does everything always happen to _me_!?"

"Kat-"

"GO HOME ALREADY!"

Kat stomped down the stairs and out to her car.

"Where are you going!?"

"To the hospital! My mom just got taken there! Where else would I be going!?"

"Kat, please don't drive! You're too upset, you really shouldn't drive right now."

"Riker, I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine!"

"Kat please don't!"

I opened her car door and placed my hand on her arm.

"Kat please. Let me drive you. I don't want you to end up in the hospital too."

Kat broke out crying again. I took this opportunity to unbuckle her seat belt, and walk her to the other side of the car. I got in too, and drove to the hospital.

When we arrived, Kat was hysterical, so I was the one to ask the lady at the desk where her mom was. Kat's mom had had a heart attack and was in surgery now, but she was going to be ok. I breathed a sigh of relief as I walked over to where Kat had sat down on a bench. She leaned over and put her head in my lap after I sat down.

"Kat, she had a heart attack, and she's in surgery now. But she's going to be ok."

I ran my fingers through her hair as she laid there and cried. Maybe this could bring us closer again…? I hoped so…

Kat got up to use the bathroom, so I asked the lady at the desk when we would be able to see her mom. We wouldn't be able to see her until tomorrow morning. It was only about 9:30 in the morning right now. That was a _long_ time. I sat back down on the bench and waited for Kat to come back.

"Kat? The lady says the soonest we can see your mom would be tomorrow morning. We should really go home. Your mom will be fine until then."

Kat nodded, so I walked her back out to her car and drove her home.

We walked upstairs to her room and sat down on her bed.

"You can go home now…" Said Kat.

"There's absolutely _no_ way I'm leaving you!"

Kat's eyes looked completely glazed over. She just stared off into space.

"Kat, you should probably call your dad and tell him what's going on."

"Why would he care!? HE LEFT HER!"

"Well you should at least tell Cody!"

"He won't care either. He thinks my mom and I caused all this, remember!?"

"Kat, it's his mom. I'm sure he still loves her!"

"Fine!"

Kat grabbed her phone and walked out of her bedroom. I just sat there on her bed and waited for her to come back. When she came back, she threw her phone against the wall, slightly denting it.

"What happened?"

"Dad's driving Cody up tonight. Technically they're still married, and they both have custody of Cody. I don't know what Cody thinks about any of this, but at least dad has the sense to let his son see his own mother!"

"Why don't I… make us some breakfast?"

"Why don't you go home?"

"Kat, I'm not leaving you. You're obviously not thinking straight-"

"I'M FINE!"

"Kat, I care about you. A lot. As much as you might not want to admit it, you need someone right now, and I'm here for you."

Kat took out her phone and dialed someone's number.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I might need someone right now, but that someone doesn't have to be you," said Kat, walking out the door.

Wow. That hurt. A lot. But I was determined to keep trying. I knew she was stubborn. But who was she calling? Probably her aunt or some relative…

"You can go home now. I won't be alone," said Kat.

"Why?"

"Someone's coming over to make sure I don't do anything I'll regret."

"Who?"

"Ross."

"ROSS!?"

"Yup! Problem?"

"No… I just-"

"Well good. You can leave now."

**Ross POV**

I passed Riker on my way over to Kat's. I tried talking to him, but he just shook his head and walked by me. Hmmm…

"Hey Kat," I said.

"Hey…"

"I'm sorry about your mom."

"it's ok."

"Was Riker over here?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"He drove me to the hospital this morning."

"Oh. Well why'd he go home and why'd you call me?"

"Because I broke up with him, he's being annoying, and he wouldn't let me stay home by myself. I thought you were the least annoying of all your family members, so I asked you."

"Uh… Thanks?"

"I'm sorry… I'm just… Nothing's going right!"

"It's ok."

"Did I wake you up?"

"What? No. Why?"

"You're wearing pajamas."

"Oh, well I was eating breakfast."

"Oh…"

"Did you have breakfast? I could make you something."

"Could you?"

"Sure, what do you want?"

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Ross and I were sitting on top of my bed watching TV. I used to think Riker was the perfect guy for me. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe it's Ross. He's so sensitive to everything I say. There's just something so calming about him that I love!

"What do you want to watch now?" Ross asked.

"Can we actually do something else?" I asked.

"Sure, like what?"

"Like… Could we go skateboarding? I feel like I need some fresh air, and I want to burn off some energy."

"Sure. Let's go!"

I grabbed my skateboard, and walked next to Ross to his house to grab his. We skateboarded mostly in his driveway. It was so fun! It took my mind off everything for a little while.

**Riker POV**

I sat on my bed, staring out the window at Kat and my brother. Why? Why couldn't that be me? Why didn't she believe me? Why… why… why…

"What's Ross doing out there with Kat?" Rocky asked.

"Skateboarding…"

"Still?"

"Yeah, they've been out there almost an hour now."

"Look, I'm sorry I called Kat last night. I didn't think I'd mess things up. Just stop being all droopy and stuff! It's depressing!"

"You didn't mess anything up. She already had her mind set that I cheated on her. And I can't stop being depressed because I just am!"

"Well I don't like it!"

"How do you think I feel!?"

"DEPRESSED!"

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window, but Kat and Ross were gone.

**Later…**

**Ross POV**

"Let me take you out for dinner," I said.

"No, you don't have to! You've been so nice to me all day. You don't have to take me out now!"

"I want to."

"Alright…"

I took Kat out to this fancy restaurant. I was actually beginning to like her company. Maybe a little too much…

"Thanks for taking me out for dinner," Kat said.

"You're welcome. I just wanted to make this night really fun!"

Kat laughed.

"You're so sweet!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling.

"You know… I never thought I would say this… But I actually had a really fun time today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ross, you're an amazing skateboarder. You like the same movies and shows I do. It was just… Really fun!"

**Later…**

**Rocky POV**

"So how'd it go with you and Kat?" I asked Ross.

He laughed.

"Uh, good…"

Ross was acting weird…

"What'd you guys do?"

"Uh… Not much…"

"Ross… What happened?"

Ross smiled.

"I… Kissed her!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Rocky POV**

"YOU WHAT!?" I screamed.

"I kissed her."

"Why would you do that!?"

"I don't know. It just kind of… happened."

"Ross, you _cannot_ tell Riker about this! I can't believe you would do something like that!"

"Why? It's not like they're dating."

"They were! They just broke up! Riker's heartbroken!"

"But I didn't do anything wrong! They're not a couple!"

"You shouldn't date his ex!"

"Well…"

"Well nothing! You can't do that to him!"

"I think I'm going to go to bed now…"

**The Next Day…**

**Riker POV**

I sat down on the couch next to Rocky. Ross got up and left as I did so.

"Hey Rocky?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed Ross acting weird this morning?"

"What!? No, why!?"

"I don't know. He just seems… jumpy I guess…"

"I haven't noticed anything!"

I stared at Rocky. Something was up.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"You're lying."

"No I'm not!"

"Rocky…"

"Nothing's up, and even if something were up, you'd be getting nothing out of me, so stop trying!"

"Fine. I'll go talk to Ross then."

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! RIKER WAIT!"

"What!?"

"I… Need you to help me with something first."

"What?"

"I need you to… uh… help me carry a box down to the basement."

"Ok…?"

"And then I need you to go to the store! Mom has a list for you!"

"Why do I have to go? I went last time."

"I don't know. It's your turn anyways though. Come on."

**Kat POV**

I walked over to the Lynch's house. Ross wanted to hang out again today, and I needed to get away from my dad and Cody. They were driving me INSANE! "Kat where's this? Kat where's that? Kat how do I do this?" Ugh! Can't they figure these things out for themselves!? Especially if they think they're going to live in Florida together. They won't last very long!

I also visited my mom this morning. She was really tired, so I didn't end up staying very long.

Ross opened the front door, and let me in. Rocky had his hands on Riker's shoulders, pushing him out the front door. Rocky shot Ross a strange look before leaving.

"Hey Kat. _Ross_…" Said Rocky, leaving.

I shrugged and followed Ross up to his bedroom.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"I… don't know."

"Uh… ok…"

"How's your brother and your dad?" Ross asked, sitting down.

"Annoying. They don't know where anything is or how to do anything and I'm doing all the work!"

"Oh… Well that sucks…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that… I know you were really close with Cody."

"It's ok. We still text each other sometimes."

"Good. Cody doesn't have many friends. But I'm glad you're one of them."

**Rocky POV**

"No, Ross doesn't like that brand of shampoo," I said.

I had to stall Riker as long as possible at the store. I didn't want him to become more suspicious of Ross.

"Why does it even matter!?"

"Ok. How about you use some flowery scented shampoo and then tell me it doesn't matter!"

"That's completely different! Scents and brands are two totally different things!"

"Fine, then I'm picking out your shampoo."

"Rocky-"

"If you use this whole bottle, I'll give you something."

"Give me what?"

"I don't know. What do you want?"

"Kat…"

"Well I can try to make that work."

"Don't bother. Her mind is made up."

"Riker, don't think like that. Come on. We have to pick out some fruit."

"That's all the way at the other end of the store!"

"Well then we better start walking!"

**Kat POV**

"Ugh, hold on, I got another text," I said, pulling my phone from my pocket.

"Is it your dad again?" Ross asked.

"Ugh, yeah. He can't cook himself dinner apparently. He's making me come home and help him. Would you please come over too?" I asked.

"Yeah sure. I'll help you make dinner."

"Cool, thanks!"

**Cody POV**

"Where are the pots?" My dad asked.

"I don't know!"

"Didn't you always cook breakfast and stuff?"

"No, I always made Kat do it."

Suddenly the door swung open, and Kat and Ross walked in.

"Oh good, Kat you're here! Dad needs help."

"Well, I brought help," said Kat, grabbing Ross's hand.

**Later…**

**Rocky POV**

After Riker and I had gotten back from the store, we started putting the groceries away. Riker put his phone down and went to the bathroom. While he was gone, his phone rang, so I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Riker Lynch?"

"Uh no. This is his brother Rocky Lynch."

"Is Riker there?"

"Not at the moment."

"Well could you tell him to call me back as soon as possible? Tell him it's Jess, the one that interviewed him. He'll know who I am. And tell him there's been a problem with the article."

"Ok, I will."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

There was a problem with the article!? This just went from bad, to super bad!

Riker came walking into the kitchen, looking like he was thinking about something.

"Hey uh… Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh… Jess called. Your interviewer. She uh… wants you to call her back ASAP."

"Why?"

"There's a problem with your article."

Riker grabbed his phone and ran out the door.

**Kat POV**

"Wow Ross, I'm impressed! This is delicious!" I said.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it."

After dinner, Ross helped me wash the dishes. He was so nice. He and Riker were so similar, yet so different from one another. I could tell my heart was trying to pick one…

**Riker POV**

I couldn't believe it. This was unreal. Something had gotten messed up, and now they couldn't publish the article about me! I wasn't going to have any proof to show Kat! Could this day get any worse?

Yup. And it was about to...

Ross walked inside, and he looked a little upset.

"Riker, I need to tell you something. But you have to promise not to get mad."

"Ok…?"

"Uh… Come outside…"

I followed Ross out the door and sat down on our front steps.

"Look Riker. I don't know how to tell you this. But I can't keep it from you anymore. I just feel like I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I… I did something… that was wrong. I shouldn't have. And I'm really sorry."

"What did you do?"

"I…"

"Come on. Tell me. I won't be mad. I promise."

"I kissed Kat last night."

My eyes widened.

"You what!?"

"Yeah. I know. But at the time it didn't seem wrong. You guys weren't dating. But I realized today that it was wrong. She's your ex, and I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry."

"I… just can't believe it…"

"Are… Are you mad at me?"

"No. Just forget about it…"

I ran to my room before I started crying. Luckily Rocky wasn't in there. He and Ryland were out somewhere. I pushed my face into my pillow and laid there until I fell asleep.

**Kat POV**

"Did you tell him?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Ross.

"Was he mad?"

"He said he wasn't, but I think he was."

"Aww… Thanks for telling him. I know that must have been hard. I just don't want to keep secrets from him. He's already mad with the whole break up."

"Kat, he's really upset."

"I know."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you in love with me?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. Why?"

"I don't know. Just wondering I guess."

"Why? Do you like me?"

"I… don't exactly know…"

"Ok…"

"Wait, can I ask you something else?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you in love with Riker?"

"Ummm…"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Kat POV**

"Are you in love with Riker?" Ross asked me.

"Ummm…"

"Don't answer that. I… shouldn't have asked that. I'll just… I have to go ok?"

"Ok… Bye Ross."

I hung up the phone and headed to my bedroom. Hopefully my dad and Cody could survive without me until tomorrow morning.

**Ross POV**

"Riker?" I called through Riker's closed door.

No answer.

"Riker please! Open up."

Much to my surprise, the door opened. But it wasn't Riker that stood in front of me. It was Rocky.

"Ross, I really don't think you should be here right now."

"I need to talk to Riker."

"I know. He just needs a little more time though, ok?"

**Rocky POV**

"Ok…"

I closed the door and sat down on my bed again. I looked at my brother who was staring right back at me. I had never seen him so hurt before. His eyes were full of so much anger and hurt, yet seemed so empty at the same time.

"Riker, I know Ross kissed Kat, but-"

"Wait! You knew!?"

"I-I-"

"You knew and you didn't tell me!? When did you find out!?"

"Last night, but-"

"Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Riker, I-"

"I can't believe you would keep something like that from me!"

"Riker please, I-"

*Slam

Riker was gone. I looked out the window and saw him walking down the road. I'll just have to give him some time to cool down. He'll be back later…

**Kat POV**

So close to falling asleep, and my phone just _has_ to ring…

"Hello?" I asked.

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Cody."

I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Dad and I went to get the mail together, and we kind of got locked out."

They're such geniuses…It's not like they've lived in this house with the self-locking door for 15 years! Oh wait…

"Ugh. I'll be right there…" I said, hanging up.

I jogged down the stairs and unlocked the door for them.

"You know we have a spare key out here!" I said.

"Then why didn't you just tell us where it was?" Cody asked.

"Knowing you, you wouldn't have been able to find it!"

Cody rolled his eyes and pushed past me into the house.

"Thank you Kat," said my dad happily, also walking inside.

Weird how he says that like nothing's wrong.

I went back upstairs to my room, and answered my phone that had started ringing.

**Cody POV**

I walked upstairs after grabbing a bag of chips from the kitchen. I walked past Kat's room, and noticed she was on the phone. I stood in her doorway until she hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"The guy mom hired to work on my laptop," said Kat, almost angrily it seemed.

"What does he want?"

"He wants me to pick up my laptop tomorrow."

"So why are you mad?"

"Because he can't get my pictures back! If you hadn't erased my phone, I'd still have most of them!"

"Kat-"

"Just leave me alone!"

**Kat POV**

I stormed out of my house and down the street. I headed to the park. I knew I wasn't really supposed to be there, but I decided to go anyway. The park was closed at dusk, and it was almost midnight! I hopped over the fence, and walked down the path to the picnic and playground area. When I got there, I noticed someone sitting at one of the picnic tables. My heart nearly missed a beat when I thought it was a police officer, but I realized it was Riker. What on earth was _he_ doing here?

As mad as I was, I decided to walk over and sit down across from him at the picnic table. He seemed shocked to see me.

"What are you doing here?" Riker mumbled.

"I always come here when I'm upset."

"Why are you upset?"

"The guy working on my laptop called. He can't get my pictures back. Everything's really gone."

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Well why are _you_ here?"

"I needed to get away from home."

"Why?"

"I can't seem to get along with anyone right now…"

"Anyone in particular?"

"Ross and Rocky."

"Why? What happened?"

"WELL YOU KISSED ROSS! AND ROCKY KNEW!"

"I did _not_ kiss Ross!" I shouted.

"Kat, Ross even told me. I know you did!"

"No. I didn't kiss Ross. Ross kissed me."

"Really?"

I could tell Riker didn't really believe me, but I was actually telling the truth.

"Riker, Ross really kissed me. It was completely his idea, and it came out of nowhere. I didn't know he was going to."

"I don't know how you expect me to believe that."

"Well I guess we're even then. You won't believe me, and I won't believe you!"

Riker looked down at his hands.

"Riker, look. I know you're upset about the breakup and everything, but I wouldn't just go out and kiss someone, especially your brother, knowing how upset you were! That's just plain mean! I would never want to hurt you like that."

"You seemed fine about not believing me!"

"That's different."

Riker sighed, and wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Riker, I really wouldn't do something that mean."

"Then tell me exactly what happened."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Ok… Well, Ross took me out to dinner. It wasn't like a date or anything. Just a random restaurant. We mostly talked about skateboarding since that's all we did that day. After dinner he drove me home. He stopped his car outside of my house, and walked me to the door. I thanked him and told him I had a lot of fun. He said he had a lot of fun too. Then, he kissed me."

"What happened after that?"

"I pushed him off and told him I couldn't do that."

"Why?"

"Because I just broke up with you."

"Then what?"

"He apologized and went home."

Riker looked down again.

"Well what happened today?"

"I don't know. We just hung out. Nothing else like that happened though if that's what you mean. But I made him promise to tell you what happened. And judging by everything, he wasn't lying when he said he told you."

"Yeah…"

"Riker… I'm so sorry."

"What for?"

"For everything. It's not fair I'm ruining your life just because mine sucks."

"You're not ruining my life."

"Riker, Ross told me you've been practically locked in your room since we broke up. He said you were devastated."

"I was, and I am. But I still love you."

"Really? After all this? You said you didn't even believe me about the whole me and Ross thing."

"Well, I do believe you… I just wish _you_ believed _me_…"

"Well in 2 weeks, that won't be a problem, right?"

"My interviewer called me. Something went wrong, and they can't publish the article after all."

"Really?"

"Yup…"

Riker looked down again and sighed.

"We should probably get out of here. We don't want to get in trouble," said Riker.

"Riker, wait. I-I need to tell you something…"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Riker POV**

I stopped and sat back down at the picnic table across from Kat.

"What?" I asked.

"I-I…"

"What?"

I could see Kat breathing quickly. She was looking down at the ground, and running her finger across the edge of the picnic table.

"Kat?"

Kat looked up at me and I saw she was crying. I was so confused right now…

"Kat, what's wrong?"

"I-I just… I…"

Kat sighed and put her head down on the table.

"Kat…?"

"This is just so much for me!" Kat shouted.

"Shhh, calm down. We don't want the police hearing us or something!"

Kat let out a breath.

"It's ok. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"I… I believe you."

"You… what?"

"I believe you!" Kat said, crying harder.

"You-you do?"

"Yeah… I can just… I just know now…"

"You really believe me?"

"Yeah… And I'm sorry I didn't believe you sooner. It was just hard because of… everything from my past…"

"It's ok. I understand…"

"No. It's not ok. I put you through so much. You didn't deserve any of it. You don't deserve _me_."

"Kat, you can't say stuff like that! You're worth more than you give yourself credit for. You keep putting yourself down. You focus on your faults, and never anything else. You have to stop doing that! WAIT! Does this mean you'll get back together with me?"

"Riker… I don't know if I can right now. There's just a lot going on and stuff. My mom's not even out of the hospital yet!"

"I know… I just-"

"I know. You love me, you're waiting for me, I know, I know. I just need you to… Just… Stay away from me. I need to focus on my family right now."

"What?"

"Look, I should be getting back home now. You should go home too. We don't want to get caught. Just don't call me, don't text me, just stay away. Ok? I'm sorry."

Kat got up and walked away. After 10 minutes of just sitting there in the dark, I went home too.

**A Few Days Later…**

**Rocky POV**

"I'm really worried about Riker," I told Ross.

"I know. So am I. He's practically living in his room and he barely eats anything."

Suddenly, Riker came walking down the stairs.

"Hey Riker," said Ross.

"Hi…"

"Hey Riker! We were going to go skateboarding in a few minutes. You want to come?" I asked.

"No."

"Aw come on Riker! It'll be fun!" Said Ross.

"No. I really don't want to…"

Riker swept his blond hair out of his face and I could tell he'd been crying. That's pretty much all he's been doing lately. We have to figure out some way to get him out of his room…

"Wait Riker! I forgot! We're actually going to the park to shoot some hoops with everyone. Come on. Let's go," I said.

"I'm not going."

"Come on Riker. We need even teams."

"I'm sorry. I'm not going."

"Riker, come on."

"I'm never going back to that park Rocky! Now leave me alone!"

Riker stormed up the stairs to our bedroom. What did he have against the park?

"Stay here," I told Ross.

I walked up to our bedroom. Riker had locked the stupid door on me.

"Riker open the door," I called, really annoyed now.

"No."

"Riker, it's my room too you know."

Silence.

"Uh… We need the basketball," I lied.

Seconds later, the door flew open, and a basketball was thrown hard into my face.

"RIKER!" I screamed.

I lunged towards the door. Riker tried to shut it, but I pushed it open. Once I was in our room, I tackled my brother to the ground and pinned him there.

"What do you think you were doing!?" I shouted, only inches from Riker's face.

Riker looked absolutely terrified. I had never done anything like this before, and I was pretty mad.

"I said, what do you think you were doing?"

Riker sighed, and looked away from me.

"Riker, the sooner you answer, the sooner I'll get off, and the sooner I can put ice on my forehead WHICH IS THROBBING!" I shouted.

Riker still wouldn't look at me. I sighed, got off my brother, and left to go get some ice. I came back up to our room, and I was determined to get my answers this time. I was so surprised when I walked into our bedroom, I almost dropped my ice pack when I saw Riker still laying on the ground.

"Riker? Are you ok?"

"I'm… Dizzy…"

I helped Riker sit up against his bed. I noticed how sweaty and shaky he was.

"Riker, when was the last time you ate something?"

"I don't know…"

"Come on. You need to eat something. You should see how pale you are."

Riker groaned and laid down on the ground again.

"Come on Riker. You're not going to feel better until you eat something."

Riker groaned again and closed his eyes. I put my hands under his arms, and started dragging him towards the door.

"What are you doing!?"

"Bringing you to the kitchen. You're eating something!"

"Rocky stop. This is silly."

"Look, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You pick."

"I pick lay in bed."

"That's not an option."

"It is now."

"NO IT'S NOT!"

I grabbed around Riker's stomach and pulled him out of the room. He fought back, but he was too weak from not eating to escape from my grasp. When we got to the stairs, Riker started elbowing me. Hard. I continued to pull him down the stairs, but I tripped, sending both of us flying down the stairs. Ross came running around the corner to see what all the noise was.

**Ross POV**

I was surprised to see Riker smooshed under Rocky at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We kind of fell down the stairs," said Rocky.

"What? How?"

"Riker's practically starving to death, so I was dragging him downstairs to get something to eat. It wasn't exactly Riker's fault that I tripped, but him elbowing me wasn't helping!"

"Would you get off me!?" Riker shouted, annoyed.

Rocky helped Riker up, and walked him to the kitchen. I sat next to Riker as Rocky angrily slapped cold cuts onto some bread and made a sandwich. He threw it on a plate and put it in front of Riker.

"Eat," said Rocky.

Riker just stared at the sandwich.

"Riker. Eat," Rocky repeated.

"Come on Riker. You look awful. You need some food in your body!" I said.

Riker rolled his eyes.

"Riker, come on. Seriously," said Rocky.

"I'm not eating it."

"Riker!"

"I don't want it!"

"I don't care! You have to eat!"

"I don't want to!"

All of a sudden, Rydel came running in from the living room.

"Riker you have to eat! I can't stand seeing you like this! Now eat!" Rydel demanded, pointing at the sandwich, crying.

Riker slowly picked up the sandwich and started eating. If Rydel was crying, he pretty much did anything to make her stop.

Rydel stayed and made sure he finished the sandwich. When he was done, he walked back up to his and Rocky's room.

**Rocky POV**

I followed my brother up to his room. He wasn't getting away that easily.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Riker asked back.

"What do you think you're accomplishing by starving yourself? What do you think you're doing to yourself? What is wrong with you!?"

Riker looked down at his feet.

"Ok. Actually, I know what's wrong. But you have to move on!"

"It's not that easy!"

Ok, maybe he had a point…

"Riker, that still doesn't make it ok for you to hurt yourself like this."

The floor suddenly turned into the most interesting thing in the world, and Riker couldn't stop looking at it.

"Riker. I need to tell mom."

"You can't tell her!"

"Riker this isn't ok!"

"Rocky please, don't tell her!"

"Riker-"

"Give me a week! Give me a week to get myself together, and if I don't, then you can tell mom. Deal?"

"Fine…"

This was going to be a long week…

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Suddenly my door flew open.

"What are you doing!?" I shouted at Cody.

"You didn't tell me Ross was coming over!" Cody shouted, looking at Ross sitting on my bed.

"Cody, you're supposed to knock first!"

"Whatever. Can I talk to Ross for a minute?"

"No. We're busy right now."

"Doing what?"

"None of your business. Now get out!" I shouted, pushing Cody out the door and locking it.

"Sorry about him. Now, what was it you were saying?"

"Um… I was going to tell you about this new amusement park that's opening."

"Ok," I said, uninterested.

"Well it's opening tomorrow, Friday night. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"Ross… I… I thought we agreed we shouldn't be doing this. For Riker's sake."

"It's not a date. It's just 2 friends going to an amusement park together. What's wrong with that?"

"It just doesn't seem… Right…"

"Oh come on. There's nothing wrong."

"Well I don't really like amusement parks either."

"Why not?"

"I… I just don't. Ok?"

"Well then we don't have to go on any rides. There's still fun stuff to do like games and stuff."

"Ross-"

"Come on! If at any point you want to leave, I'll take you straight home."

"Why can't you go with Rocky or something?"

"Because I want to go with _you_."

"Why me!?"

"Kat please. I'll pick you up tomorrow night at 7:00. Ok?"

"Fine," I grumbled.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Friday Afternoon**

**Kat POV**

"What are _you_ waiting for?" Cody asked.

"What makes you think I'm waiting for something?"

"You're standing by the door, with shoes on, holding a bag, holding a sweatshirt, holding-"

"Ok I get it!"

"So what are you waiting for?"

"Ross is taking me to some amusement park."

"_You're_ going to an amusement park?"

"Yeah…?"

"Aren't you scared of them?"

"Look, I can't really get out of it. Just drop it already."

"So you're being forced to go?"

"No. Not exactly. It's my choice."

"Yeah right."

"Cody, just drop it already."

*Knock Knock Knock

I opened the door and found Ross standing outside.

"Hey!" Said Ross.

"Hey, let's go," I said, walking out the door.

Ross drove me to the amusement park. By the time we got there, it was dark.

"So what do you want to do first?" Ross asked.

"Um I don't know. You pick, I guess."

"I don't know what you're willing to do."

"Fine. How about we play a game then."

**Ross POV**

Our plan was working perfectly. I texted Rocky to see when we needed to start the next step.

"Hey, did you get Riker here yet?" I texted.

"We're just arriving. I had to call backup. Riker was being difficult. I called Ellington, and we practically dragged him out of the house," Rocky texted.

"Ok good. Text me when you guys get here."

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked Kat.

"I don't know."

"Do you want to go on a ride?"

"I don't know. I'm not much of a ride person."

"Oh come on. It'll be fun. I promise."

"DO NOT PICK A SCARY ONE!"

"I won't."

I convinced Kat to go on the scrambler. After that, I bought her some cotton candy.

"We're here. Step 2. Where do you want to meet?" Rocky texted.

"Let's meet at the bathrooms."

"Sounds good. See you in a few."

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"Ok, let's go."

Kat and I walked over to the bathrooms. I told her I wanted to sit for a minute, so we could wait for Rocky, Riker, and Ellington to show up.

"Oh, hey guys. I didn't know you guys were going to be here," said Rocky.

Could he be any more obvious?

"Hey. You guys want to go on some rides?" I asked.

"Yeah, let's go," said Rocky.

I grabbed Kat's hand and we headed off to one of the biggest roller coasters in the amusement park.

"So Kat. Do you think you'd go on a roller coaster?" I asked.

"I guess so. Why?"

"Because we're heading to our favorite."

"Uh… Ok…? It just better not be too crazy."

Rocky had told me how Kat didn't really like rollercoasters. Riker had told him about what she had said. We had it all planned out how we were going to make Kat and Riker ride together. Would it work though? We could only hope…

**Riker POV**

We had to stand in a really long line. It was really boring and I didn't even want to be here. Rocky gave me my car keys, saying he didn't want to hold onto them. I would have to be careful not to lose them. Now I had to stand here in this stupid line, for a stupid ride, in a stupid park, that I didn't even want to be at! We must have waited close to 30 minutes by the time we were finally to the front!

"We have 2 more spots!" Called the person in charge of the roller coaster.

Immediately Rocky and Ross pushed Kat and I forward. The guy in charge closed the gate behind us, and we were forced to ride together. Someone helped us into the last spot, and we pulled the bar down over ourselves.

"Wait, this thing goes upside down!?" Kat asked.

"Yeah. We'll be fine," I said, not looking at her.

"Riker? I'm… terrified."

The ride started, and we slowly ascended as Kat started freaking out.

"Kat, we're going to be fine," I said.

"Riker-!"

I put my arm around her waist just as we got to the very top. Kat scooched closer to me, and we got ready for it to really begin.

We flew down the track. Kat screamed all the way. But I noticed it wasn't "this is awesome" screaming. She was seriously scared.

When we got off the ride, I still had my arm around Kat. The guy in charge of the exit gate gave me a strange look as we left. I glared at Rocky, Ross, and Ellington as we walked over to a bench and sat down. Just like when we were at the hospital, Kat put her head in my lap. I wanted to comfort her so bad, but I didn't know if I should! She wanted me to stay away from her. This was just so awkward! People gave me strange looks as they walked by. I didn't blame them. I probably looked like a bad boyfriend who had made his girlfriend go on a scary ride, and now she was sobbing. I wasn't even doing anything but sitting there with my arm awkwardly hanging around her waist as she cried. I'm totally going to kill Ellington and my bros. Strangely, I was more upset about them doing this to Kat, than I was about them doing it to me too. I mean, sure they forced me to ride with her, and now it was embarrassing just sitting here without comforting her. But I was furious they made Kat get on the scariest roller coaster here! I knew she didn't like rides, especially roller coasters, from what she'd told me about her past.

Rocky, Ross and Ellington all came walking up to us. Kat immediately stood up.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME!?" Kat shouted.

My eyes widened when she slapped Ross across the face, and walked away sobbing. Ross was pretty shocked too. He just stood there trying to comprehend what just happened…

I ran after Kat. Stupid, I know, but something made me feel like I needed to go after her. I was realizing that maybe she wasn't mad at me. She hadn't yelled at me or anything. She cried into my lap. If she were mad, she probably would've walked away or something.

"Kat! Wait up!" I called.

Kat continued running until she was out of the park. She ran over to my car, which Rocky had driven here, and stopped.

"Take me home," Kat said, obviously furious.

"Ok."

I unlocked my car, and got in. As I drove home, Kat looked out her window.

"Kat?" I asked, softly.

"What?" Kat asked, angrily.

"I… I didn't have anything to do with this. I didn't know they were going to do that. But I'm sorry for what they did. That was ridiculous."

"I know."

"What?"

"I know you didn't have anything to do with it. You looked just as surprised as I was."

"So you're not mad?"

"Not at you…"

"Well… Yeah… I'll talk to Ross, Rocky, and Ellington tonight. They shouldn't have done that."

"I just can't believe I slapped him. I've never done anything like that before… It just felt like I had no control…"

"If you hadn't slapped him, I would've done much worse to him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That was downright mean. He deserved worse than just a slap to the face."

"I'm surprised you feel that way."

"Why?"

"He's your brother. I always thought you sided with him on like everything."

"Well usually. But what he did was wrong. Especially with your past and everything. I know you were absolutely terrified, and that was _not_ ok."

For the next 5 minutes, neither of us spoke. I pulled into Kat's driveway and shut off my car. I got a text, and saw it was from Rocky. I ignored it and walked Kat to the door. Her house was strangely dark.

"There's a note…?" Kat said, her voice still a little weird from crying.

"What's it say?"

"Something went wrong at the hospital! Something's wrong with my mom! We need to meet them there!"

"Ok, I'll drive you. But can I use your bathroom first?"

"Riker, this is no time for bathroom breaks!"

**Kat POV**

"Kat-"

I grabbed Riker's hand before he could say anything else, and dragged him back to his car.

"Come on! Let's go!" I shouted.

Riker sped down the road, and got on the highway towards the hospital. I was shaking in my seat the whole time. Boys were so bad at leaving notes! They didn't even say what was wrong! They didn't say how serious it was or anything! She could be dead by now, and they probably wouldn't even have texted me!

We arrived at the hospital, and we practically sprinted to the entrance. The doors flew open, and I pulled Riker straight over to my dad and Cody.

"What happened to mom!?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Kat POV**

"What happened to mom!?" I practically shouted, getting weird looks from nearby people.

"Kat, she had another heart attack. But she's doing ok now," said my dad.

"Why couldn't you have told me that sooner!? I was practically dying all the way here!" I shouted again, squeezing Riker's hand pretty hard.

"Sorry! I didn't have your cell number," said my dad.

"What about Cody? He has my number."

"Oh. I didn't think of that…"

Unbelievable!

Riker shifted next to me.

"Kat. I-"

"Go to the bathroom!" I shouted, annoyed with everything that happened tonight.

I immediately regretted doing that. He looked like he felt so bad as he walked away. Sure I was mad, but none of it was his fault, and he didn't deserve to get treated like that.

"Well can we see her?" I asked my dad.

"No. Not until tomorrow."

"Then why are you still here?"

"I'm in the middle of talking to one of the doctors about some things. They're doing some tests right now. We'll probably be home in 2 or 3 hours."

"Ok…"

I walked over to Riker, who was just leaving the bathroom.

"Can you please take me home?" I asked, exhausted.

"Yeah."

We got in the car and headed home. Or so I thought…

"Look, I'm really sorry about how I've acted tonight. I'm just so mad at Ross, I'm mad at my dad and brother, I'm upset about my mom, I-"

"It's ok. I get it. You have a really busy life."

"No, it's not that. It's just… It's all happening at the same time. It feels like it won't stop. One bad thing happens, and it all just snowballs from there."

"It'll get better though. I promise."

"I know. It's just depressing that nothing's going right! My parents are getting a divorce, my mom's in the hospital… I just want everything to stop."

Riker pulled into a Dunkin Donuts, and shut off the car.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"You seemed like you needed something to eat."

We walked inside and looked at the menu.

"What are you getting?" Riker asked.

"I was going to get a chocolate donut and a hot chocolate. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not getting anything."

"Riker, Ross told me… about you… and everything…"

"What do you mean?"

"You're starving yourself?" I asked, quietly.

"Oh…"

"Are you really?"

"I mean… I guess a little, but it's not really anything."

"Riker, Ross told me what happened with you and Rocky."

Riker walked away from me and ordered what I wanted. I left and sat down in the back. Riker found me and put down my donut and hot chocolate.

"Riker, why would you do that to yourself?"

"I don't know…"

"Riker."

He sighed.

"I was just upset about the breakup and stuff…"

"Wait. _I_ made you do that?"

"Well-"

"I can't believe _I_ made you hurt yourself!"

"Kat-"

"I'm _so_ sorry Riker! I had no idea! I didn't mean to!"

"Kat, these things happen. I just need to learn how to deal with them."

"Not by starving yourself!"

"Well, no-"

"Please. Please have half my donut and hot chocolate."

"Kat-"

"Please Riker!"

"Ok, ok. Shhh!"

I closed my eyes and sighed. Maybe things were starting to turn around now. Then again… Maybe not…

I watched Riker eat his half of the donut. I still couldn't believe I had made him do that to himself! I felt so guilty!

"Why do you look so worried?" Riker asked.

"I'm not. I just… Can't believe you did that because of me…"

"It's not your fault."

"How can you say it's not my fault!? It's _100%_ my fault!"

Riker's phone started ringing. He looked at it, and ignored it.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Rocky."

"Why didn't you answer it?"

"I'm mad at him, and whatever he wants can wait."

"I'm sorry…"

"Kat, stop it."

"I just… I feel so bad!"

"Kat, please. I'm fine!"

"If you had died, it would've been my fault!"

"Kat-"

"You know it's true!"

Riker sighed.

"Let's go home," said Riker.

"Not until you drink half of that hot chocolate."

"I don't like hot chocolate."

"You're lying! I know for a fact, because Cody told me, that hot chocolate is your _favorite_ drink! Nice try."

"Fine, you caught me," Riker said, picking up the cup and smiling.

Once he was finished, he handed the cup back to me.

"Can we go now?" Riker asked.

"Yeah…"

We drove home in silence. Riker parked his car and got out without saying a word still. He walked me up to my door once again.

"I'll see you later," said Riker.

Little did he know, he would _actually_ see me later…


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Riker POV**

I unlocked the front door, and everyone was sitting in the living room staring at me including my parents. Apparently they had all been waiting for me. Well this was awkward.

"Riker Anthony Lynch, where have you been!? You should've been here a long time ago!" My mom shouted.

"I-"

"Rocky texted you _and_ called you, and you never responded! We were worried Riker!" My mom shouted again.

"I'm an adult, mom. I can be out wherever I want to be."

"You may be an adult, but you still live under this roof, and there are rules."

I sighed.

"If you can't follow these rules, then maybe you should live somewhere else," said my dad.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Riker, this is 4 times now you've broken the rules."

"I said I'm sorry!"

My dad shook his head. I walked upstairs to my bedroom. I needed to be more careful. I knew if I kept breaking the rules, my dad was serious about kicking me out.

A few minutes later, my dad came upstairs and walked into my room.

"Riker, I need to talk to you for a minute," he said.

I silently followed him out of my room and outside.

"Riker, this is really unacceptable. You know the rules. And the fact that you didn't answer Rocky's text _or_ call makes it even worse. You don't know how worried your mother and I were. If you want to be out late partying every night, then you need to move out. You can't keep doing this."

"Dad, you should've seen what happened tonight though! And i wasn't out partying! I didn't answer Rocky because I was mad at him."

"Riker, there are no excuses. You should've answered when he called you. Tomorrow, you need to go look for a place to live. Do you understand?"

"Dad! No I don't understand! You can't kick me out! I need to be here! I need to be with my siblings!"

"You can see them whenever you want to."

"Dad, please! You _can't_ kick me out!"

"I'm sorry Riker. If you don't face any consequences for your actions, you'll just keep breaking the rules."

"I only broke them 4 times though!"

"In the past 2 months!"

"Dad, please! You can't!"

"Look Riker. I'm giving you until next Friday to find a place. We'll even help you move-"

"I don't want your help! This isn't fair!"

"I don't have to be fair. I'm your father, and you need to learn how to follow the rules and now live on your own."

"But dad-"

"No buts! Now I suggest you go to bed and get some sleep. You'll need it."

I stomped up the stairs, getting yelled at by my mom for doing so, and went into my bedroom.

"What's going on!?" Asked Rocky.

"I'm leaving."

"What!? When?"

"Now."

"What!?"

I grabbed my suitcase from my closet and packed up some clothes. I didn't know where I was going, but it didn't matter. I needed to leave. I couldn't take it anymore. It felt like no one cared about my feelings or anything! They'd all be better off without me, so I'm doing them the favor.

"Riker, what are you talking about?"

"I'm leaving."

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Well then how can you be leaving?"

I zipped up my suitcase, grabbed a hoodie, and stormed back down the stairs.

"Riker, where are you going!?" My dad yelled.

I walked past him in the kitchen, and out the front door. My dad came running out after me. I shoved my suitcase in the back of my car, and got in.

"Riker, where do you think you're going!?" My dad screamed through the car window.

I ignored my dad, started the car, and drove down the road. Our road was a dead end, so I parked it there. I angrily pounded on the steering wheel as I started crying. I'd screwed up, but there was no going back now. They don't care about me, and I don't understand why _I_ care so much about _them_.

I climbed into the backseat and moved my suitcase to the front. I laid down after locking the doors, and closed my eyes.

A few minutes later, someone came knocking on my windows. Great…

I sat up and opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, staring at Kat who was in tears.

"Why!? Why are you here!? What are you doing!?" Kat said, upset.

"I can't live there anymore!"

"Riker, Rocky called me. Do you know how worried he is!?"

"I don't care!"

"How can you say that!? He's your brother Riker, and he loves you!"

"I'm just… so mad!"

"And running away is going to fix that?"

"If you're here to convince me to go back, then leave, because you're wasting your time."

"I'm not going to make you go back. I just want to make sure you're really ok with your decision."

"I'll never be ok with it. But there's no way I'm going back there."

Kat sighed.

"Whatever. It's your decision…"

"I'll be fine."

"Sleeping in your car!?"

"Yeah. It's not very big, but it'll be fine for tonight."

"No. I'm not letting you do this."

"I'm not going back Kat!"

"I didn't say you had to go home! I said you're not sleeping in your car. Now come on. You're sleeping at my house."

"Kat, I couldn't ask you to do that for me."

"You didn't! It's my idea, and I want you to."

"Kat-"

"Don't argue with me! I'm not letting you sleep in your car!"

Kat opened the front door and took out my suitcase.

"Come on, let's go," she said.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Riker POV**

I got up and followed Kat down the road to her house. When we got to her front door, she stopped.

"We need to be really quiet ok? My dad would never let a guy sleepover unless it was for Cody, _which_ you're not. And don't let Cody see you either. Got it?"

"Yes."

We silently snuck up the stairs to Kat's bedroom. Kat locked the door once we were there.

"Where do you want me to sleep?" I asked.

"On the floor…?"

"Yeah, but where?"

Kat pointed to the space between her bed and the window, so I put my suitcase down there.

"Did you bring pillows or anything?" Kat asked.

"No."

"Well _that_ would've been comfortable in your car."

I looked at Kat.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't… You've had a rough night," said Kat, while pulling blankets out of her closet.

I felt like crying, but I didn't want to in front of Kat. Was this really reality? I was sleeping at someone else's house because… of everything that just happened…?

"Here," said Kat, handing me a stack of pillows and blankets.

"Thanks."

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… ok?"

"I'm fine," I said, turning away from her.

"Riker. What can I do?"

I started setting up my bed and ignored Kat's question.

"Riker please answer me. What can I do?"

"You can't _do_ anything Kat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you can't do anything for me right now."

"It seems like it meant more than that!"

I sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated!"

"Shhh! Do you want my dad or Cody to hear you?"

**Kat POV**

I watched Riker set up his bed. He seemed really angry, but I didn't know what to do. When he was done, he flopped down on top, slamming his head facedown into the pillows.

"Are you done?" I asked.

"Yes," Riker mumbled into the pillows.

I got up and shut of the light, leaving us in total darkness. I could hear Riker moving around in his bed.

"I can't see anything."

"That's kind of the point."

"Kat, I can't sleep in total darkness."

"Why? Scared?"

"I've never slept in the dark before…"

"Really!?"

"Yes! It freaks me out! Please turn the lights back on!"

I jumped out of bed and flicked the bright lights back on.

"There. Happy?"

"No."

"Well why not!?"

"Because I can't sleep with the lights on like that!"

"I'm Riker, and I can't sleep with the lights on _or_ off!" I imitated.

"Kat!"

"How do you sleep then!?"

"Rocky lets me leave the bathroom light on."

"Well do you _see_ a bathroom in my bedroom?"

"Well no-"

"Just try falling asleep with the lights off, ok?"

"Kat-"

"It's not scary! If I can do it, so can you!"

I got up and flicked the lights back off. Riker screamed into his pillow, but not loud enough to wake anyone.

"Riker, I don't know what you want me to do."

"It's fine. Just go to sleep," Riker said angrily.

"Well if you need anything, I'm right here," I said closing my eyes.

A few minutes of silence went by.

"Kat?"

"What?"

"Did you hear that?"

"No! Go to sleep!"

I turned over in bed, facing away from Riker, and concentrated on ignoring him.

**The Next Morning…**

**Kat POV**

I woke up to find Riker curled in a ball, with the blankets all the way at the end of his bed. I got out of my bed, and pulled the blankets back on top of him. I shivered as I walked down the icy stairs to the kitchen. My dad and brother were sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal, probably because they couldn't make anything else.

"Good morning!" Said my dad, happily.

Why doesn't he understand that I hate him for this!?

"Morning…"

I walked over the to the fridge, poured orange juice into 2 glasses, and walked back upstairs without letting either of them see the 2 glasses. I locked my door, and sat down in bed, putting the glasses down on my night stand. I leaned over and gently shook Riker's shoulder, waking him up. He looked up at me as if he didn't recognize me at first.

"Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"It's about 9:30. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Here," I said, handing him the orange juice.

"Thanks."

"Riker? What are you doing today?"

"I honestly don't know. Why?"

"Because I don't want you to leave just because you feel bad about staying here. I want you to stay here as long as you need to. And I don't want you to feel bad _at_ _all_."

"Kat, I really shouldn't be here though."

"Stop. Just stop. Ok? It's completely fine."

Riker looked down, and I sighed.

"So how did you sleep last night?" I asked.

**Riker POV**

I had actually been terrified all night. It felt like hours before I was able to finally fall asleep. I had even had a nightmare about being trapped in a dark room. But there was no way I was telling Kat that. It was embarrassing enough she knew I was afraid of the dark.

"Uh, ok I guess."

"You're lying. You were scared weren't you?"

"How do you know that!?"

"Well I could hear you keep moving around last night. And when I woke you up, you were curled in a little ball which is usually how a scared person sleeps! You didn't look relaxed at all!"

"Ok, well maybe I didn't have the best night."

"I'm sorry. If you want to drive me to a store, I can buy a nightlight."

"No, that's ok. I don't think I'll stay here tonight."

"You're going back home?"

"No."

"Then where are you going?"

"I don't know yet."

"Riker, I really want you here if you have nowhere else to go. I want to know that you're safe. If you're not at home or here, I won't know that. Please stay here until you figure stuff out. And if you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. Because I want you to."

"Ok fine."

Kat gave me hug. I missed those so much…

"So let's go to the store today. We can buy you a nightlight and stuff, and please don't argue with me."

"Fine. When do you want to go?"

"I don't care. Whenever. I think it's supposed to rain today though. So if you don't want to get caught in the rain, we should probably go sooner rather than later."

"Ok, let's get dressed and stuff and then we can go."

"Ok, sounds good."

Kat grabbed her clothes and left the bedroom. I rummaged through my suitcase, trying to pick something that matched. I had randomly thrown stuff in here last night. I didn't pack specific outfits, so it was a bit difficult. Kat walked in on me before I was able to put my shirt on.

"Oh, sorry," said Kat.

"It's fine. It doesn't really matter," I said, slipping my shirt over my head.

Kat sat down on her bed and looked at me. How had she gotten ready so fast? I thought all girls took forever to get ready.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah, my dad just got in the shower, so we don't have to worry about him. But I don't know where Cody is…?"

"Whatever. Let's just go."

We walked down the street to my car which was still parked at the dead end. There was a note taped to my window.

"What's it say?" Kat asked.

"It's from my dad. He says he's sorry he overreacted last night, and he wants me to come back. Apparently Rocky told him and mom what's been going on, and they're not happy."

"What do you mean?"

"He told them I've been starving myself and acting weird and stuff."

"Because I made you…"

"Kat, stop."

"I just can't believe I made you do that…"

"Come on, let's go to the store."

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

We had finally gotten back to Kat's. I had parked my car at the park a few minutes away, so we had to walk for a little while to get back. I just didn't want to get any more notes or anything. I didn't really know if I wanted to go back. But I didn't want to inconvenience Kat either. We snuck up her stairs, and into her room.

"Ok, you'll be good for tonight," said Kat, plugging the light in.

"Yeah… Uh… thanks…"

"So what are you thinking, as in the note?"

"I'm not sure. I really don't want to go back. I'm mad that my dad wanted to kick me out. I'm mad about what they did to you at the amusement park. I'm mad that Rocky told on me. I just… Don't know yet."

"It's ok. Take your time."

"Kat, I really appreciate what you've done for me."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt more than you already have been."

"Thanks. That really means a lot."

Ugh! Why won't she go out me!?

"So what do you want to do now?" Kat asked.

"Probably something quiet in your bedroom. It's raining, and we don't want to get caught."

"We could watch a movie."

"Ok. What movie?"

"I have a really scary one I've been wanting to see."

A scary movie? Just my luck… I sat down in my bed and waited for Kat to get it all set up. Once she was done, she closed the curtains, sat on her bed, and pressed play.

**1 Hours Later…**

**Kat POV**

I just had to pause the movie. This was getting ridiculous. Riker looked up at me when I paused it and seemed embarrassed when I looked over at him. He had his legs pulled up to his chest and had his arms wrapped around them.

"Come sit next to me," I said.

"What? Why?"

"You look scared."

"I'm not scared!"

"Come sit next to me."

"Kat I'm fine."

"Please?"

"Fine."

Riker stood up and sat on my bed with me. I pulled a blanket over our laps, and unpaused the movie.

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

"Well what do you want to do now?" I asked, turning the TV off.

"Uh… I don't know."

"We could have a late lunch – early dinner type thing. We haven't eaten anything all day."

"I guess so."

"_You_ are eating something!"

"I will, I will!"

"Ok, you stay here, I'm going to go sneak downstairs and go find us some dinner."

"Actually I was going to go to the bathroom."

"Ok, just be careful not to be seen."

"I will."

I unlocked my door and walked downstairs. I could see my dad and Cody outside playing something. I think it was football. Or maybe be baseball. Soccer? I don't know! I'm not a sports person. Who cares anyways? The only real exercise I got was skateboarding. But I was surprisingly thin for someone who didn't really do anything.

I heated up some left over pasta in the microwave from the other night. I poured it into 2 bowls and brought them upstairs. Riker was looking out my window.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"Your dad and Cody are playing basketball."

"Basketball! That's what it's called!"

"What?"

"Nothing… Here. Eat."

"Thanks."

**That Night…**

**Kat POV**

I walked into my bedroom on Riker changing again. Luckily I was pretty consistent with my timing, and he was just pulling his shirt on as I came in.

"So my dad said that my mom is being released from the hospital on Tuesday."

"Oh, cool. Did you have a good shower?"

"Uh yeah…? Are you sure you didn't want to take one?"

"No, I don't want to risk getting caught or anything."

"We could just make something up so you could take one."

"No, it's ok."

**Riker POV**

Ok so maybe that wasn't exactly the reason why… But Kat didn't need to know that. The truth was, I did a lot of thinking when I was in the shower. I was just scared that I would change my mind on something and hurt Kat or something. I don't know. It's a stupid reason, but I didn't care. I just wanted to go to sleep.

**The Next Morning…**

**Kat POV**

"So what are we doing today?" Riker asked.

"I don't know. It's Sunday. My dad and Cody are going to church I think."

"Ok."

"And while they're gone, you can take a shower."

"Uh…"

"You need a shower, Riker!"

"Ok fine."

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Riker came walking back into my room after his shower wearing glasses. He wears glasses? What else didn't I know about him?

"What's up with the glasses?" I asked.

"I lost one of my contacts."

"Oh. Uh Riker? Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You… you look like you were crying…"

"Why?"

"Your eyes and nose are pink."

"Oh."

"Well were you?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

"By asking that, you already did! Now, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

This was weird. I was realizing we were swapping roles. Before, I didn't want to talk to Riker, and now he didn't want to talk to me. I used to not want him around, and now it seems like he doesn't want _me_ around.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because what goes on inside my head is so hard to understand, I don't have any words to explain it."

"Well could you try? Please?"

"Ok… I just feel… sad… all the time… And it won't go away. I don't understand what's wrong with me."

"How bad is it?"

"I wouldn't want anyone to ever feel like this, not even my worst enemies."

"Awww! Well eating a normal amount of food would probably help that a little. You just need to get past the whole fight thing, and then I think things will start feeling better."

"But that's the thing. I don't think things will ever be 100% better."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Riker POV**

"Why don't you think things will be 100% better?" Kat asked.

Because you don't love me.

"I don't know," I said.

"Is this about…"

"What?"

"What I did to you?"

"Kat-"

"No, really. Is it?"

"I'm not answering that. We've been over that enough times."

Kat looked at me, annoyed.

"Can we just do or talk about something else?" I asked.

"Fine. Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I guess I could see what apartments are available."

"Riker are you crazy!? Your dad said you could come back home!"

"I know. At first I didn't know how I could ever move out. But after thinking about it, I just feel like I need to."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like my family doesn't care about me. Don't even say anything. I know, I know. They love me. But I just… I can't live in that house with them anymore! It's too much!"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Rocky told my parents how I tried starving myself! They're going to kill me! And I can't stand being around my siblings anymore! Rocky always brings up how you broke up with me, and it drives me insane! I just can't deal with this anymore!"

Kat looked down at the floor.

"What?" I asked.

"It's my fault again."

"No it's not! I won't let you take the blame! So stop saying things like that!"

"Riker think about it. It's _all_ my fault. I made you want to starve yourself. I made you all depressed. I made you take me home and to the hospital, and if I hadn't, you wouldn't have had that fight! It's all my fault!"

"Ok, well maybe it's your fault, but I'm not blaming you for it!"

"How can you not blame me?"

Because I love you.

"I don't know…"

"Riker."

"What?"

"I really think you should go home and make up with everyone. You need to get everything sorted out. Otherwise you won't feel better."

"I don't want to though!"

"I know you don't want to, but you have to!"

"Not today."

"Riker."

"If you don't want me to stay here anymore, I won't, but I'm not ready to go home yet!"

"The longer you wait, the worse it'll be when you go home."

"I don't care," I said, packing up my suitcase.

"Riker, don't."

"Don't what?"

"Leave!"

**Kat POV**

I could hear Riker take a deep breath in, as he sat down on the ground, leaning against my bed. He covered his face with his hands, and started crying. He was just a mess.

"Riker, it's going to be ok, I promise."

"How can you say that!?" Riker cried.

"Shhh. Calm down."

I sat down next to Riker on the floor, and rubbed his shoulder.

"Do you remember that night we got stuck in the elevator?"

Riker nodded slowly.

"I asked you the same thing. I really didn't think things would ever get better. But you know what? They did."

"How!? Your mom's in the hospital, and you're living with your dad!"

"Well yeah. But I mean… My mom might be in the hospital, but she's ok, and she's coming home on Tuesday. And I might be living with Cody and my dad. But I've lived with them my whole life. Sure I want to kill my dad, but at least they're learning how to do things around the house so I don't have to!"

"I seriously don't know how you're making it through all this!"

"Normally I wouldn't have been able to."

"Then why were you able to now?"

"Because I had you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Riker POV**

I looked up at Kat, but she was a little blurry through my tears.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"_You_ helped me get through everything."

"How? What about when you thought I cheated on you?"

"Well I mean… that kind of broke my heart. But before and after that, you always wanted to hang out with me and talk to me. You were so encouraging. You always told me that things would get better. I didn't always believe you, but I made it this far."

"Really!?"

"Yeah. I'd be a mess if I didn't have you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's just… hard to believe I guess…"

"Why?"

"Well you told me to stay away from you!"

"I know. I just… didn't want to hurt you anymore."

"Well… Ok… But you seemed like you hated me! I just assumed that you never believed me."

"But I said I did!"

"But I thought you hated me!"

"I know… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that. I was just mad."

"At what?"

"I don't know. I just… Never mind…"

I looked down and rubbed my eyes.

"Riker, are you going to be ok? Do you want to talk about anything?"

I want you to love me back.

"No. I'll be ok," I said, standing up.

"Where are you going?"

"The bathroom," I said, leaving.

I closed the bathroom door and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My face and eyes were all red, and I had circles under my eyes. I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face. It didn't really help anything, but it felt kind of good on my hot skin. I dried my face off, and looked back at the mirror. I still looked like a mess. Whatever. I look how I feel. I walked back into Kat's room.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Kat asked.

"I'm fine."

Well that didn't sound too convincing. Oh well.

"What's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"It's Monday. You have school don't you?"

"I won't go."

"Kat, you can't stay home from school."

"Sure I can. I haven't been absent in like forever. It's fine."

"Won't your dad have a problem with it?"

"If I put on an act and cry tomorrow morning about how stressed I am about my mom, he'll be fine with it. He absolutely hates when I cry, because I don't cry a lot, and he'll know I'm really upset. And it'll be early in the morning, and he won't be able to think very straight. It'll be fine."

"I still don't think you should stay home because of me."

"Ok, how about we make a deal."

"Let me hear it."

"I'll go to school on Tuesday, but you have to go home and talk to your family tomorrow night."

"Mmm…"

"Riker, come on. They're your family."

"I don't know…"

"Riker, Rocky has been in tears ever since you left. He thinks it's all his fault because he told on you, and he thinks you hate him."

"How do you know that? That can't be true."

"Ross told me."

"When!?"

"Last night. He's been texting me."

"Really? He cried?"

"Yeah. He's your brother and he loves you so much! He's really worried about you, just like the rest of your family."

"Wait, did you tell him I'm staying here? Does my whole family know?"

"What? No. I didn't tell him."

"Really?"

"I swear, I didn't."

"Then why was he texting you?"

"Because he's my friend and we like to talk."

"Has he asked you anything about where I am?"

"He asked me if I knew where you were."

"What'd you say?"

"I said I didn't know anything."

"Wait, how'd you know where I was the night I left?"

"Well Rocky called me and said you left. I didn't know. I just went running down the road, hoping to catch you before you left."

"I hope they don't know where I am."

"Well your dad found your car and left a note, so he probably figures that you're here. But why don't you want them to know?"

"Because if they knew, they could come over looking for me, and then drag me home. And my parents would hate that I'm staying here because they wouldn't want to trouble your dad."

"Well I don't know if they know or not."

"What do you and Ross text about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean just like normal stuff. What do you guys talk about?"

"I don't know. Random stuff i guess. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Tell me why."

"I said, I'm just curious!"

Kat rolled her eyes at me.

"Well is it a deal or not?"

"Fine. But, can you come with me tomorrow when I go home? I'm actually really scared. I feel like my parents would go easier on me if you were there."

"Of course I can. You were there for me when I needed to talk to Cody. I'll be there for you whenever you need me to be."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Sunday Night…**

**Kat POV**

Today has been exhausting for both Riker and I. I can tell he's super nervous about tomorrow night. If I were him, I know I would be too. I just hope he sticks to what he said.

"What do you want for dinner?" I asked Riker.

"I don't need anything."

"Riker, you have to eat something! I thought we went over this!"

"Didn't we already have dinner?"

"No, that was lunch."

"Lunch at 3:30?"

"Yes! Now what do you want for dinner?"

"I don't care…"

I rolled my eyes before heading down the stairs to go find something. My dad and Cody had left to go visit my mom at the hospital, so Riker and I could do whatever we wanted until they came back. So, I decided to order a pizza. I went back upstairs and sat on my bed, waiting for it to arrive.

"What are you doing?" Riker asked.

"What do you mean? I'm just sitting here."

"Exactly."

"I called a pizza guy."

"Kat! You didn't have to do that!"

"I wanted to."

"Why?"

"Because I felt like having pizza for dinner!"

The doorbell rang, so I went downstairs, Riker following.

"Here," said Riker, handing me money.

"No. Keep it."

"Kat, you're not going to pay for me!"

"Yes I am!"

"Kat-"

"Stop! I'm paying!"

I slipped out the front door, and held the doorknob still once I was outside. Riker kept trying to turn it, but I wasn't going to let him.

"Thank you," I said, handing the pizza guy money, and taking the pizza.

I went back inside to find Riker sitting on the couch, looking really annoyed.

"Kat, you didn't have to do that."

"Well I wanted to. Can't you let me do things I want to do?"

"Here," said Riker, holding the money out to me again.

"I'm not taking it! Keep it. Now come on, let's go upstairs and eat."

I walked upstairs, and after waiting a few minutes, I went back downstairs to get Riker.

"Stop being stubborn and get up!" I shouted, pulling his hand.

"I'm not being stubborn!"

"Well prove it, and come upstairs!"

I pulled on Riker's hand really hard, and made him get up from the couch. I walked up the stairs with him, still holding onto his hand. I opened the pizza box and handed him a slice. Thank goodness he took it, and wasn't difficult!

**Rocky POV**

I heard a knock on my door. I pulled the blankets over my head, hoping whoever it was, would go away. No luck.

"Rocky?"

I could tell it was Ross.

"Rocky, do you think Riker's going to come back?'

"I don't know. Please just go away. I don't want to talk about this."

"Rocky, I need answers. Why are you so upset?"

"Because Riker's gone! Why else?"

"I know. But I can tell it's more than that!"

"It's all my fault Ross! I made him not want to come back! I told mom and dad he was starving himself, and I said I wouldn't!"

"Rocky, I'm sure he won't blame you for doing that. You were just worried. He knows you love him."

"I don't know. I just wish he would come back! Where could he have gone?"

"I think he might be living in his car...?"

"Why?"

"Well dad found his car parked at the dead end, but he wasn't in it, so dad left a note saying he wanted Riker to come back home, and he wasn't getting kicked out. But then later, his car was gone, and it hasn't come back since."

"Why would he do this to us!?"

"He's just upset Rocky."

"How are you ok with all this!?"

"I'm not ok. But I'm thinking about it logically. Wait a minute…"

"What?"

"I think I know where Riker is."

**Kat POV**

"Shhh! My dad and Cody are back. Take the pizza and get in my closet. I have a feeling my dad might want to talk to me."

Riker took the pizza box and went to my closet. I could hear my dad unlocking the door downstairs. A few minutes later, he came upstairs and knocked on my door.

"Kat?" My dad called.

"What?" I called back.

"I just wanted to let you know that mom's doing better."

"Ok."

I could hear him walk away. Good. I walked over to the closet and let Riker come back out. We were just about to put on a movie when someone knocked on my door again.

"What?" I called through the door.

"Kat? Someone's here to see you," my dad called back.

"Who?"

"Uh, I forgot to get his name. He's downstairs."

"Ok."

I turned back to Riker, and he had a worried expression on his face.

"Relax," I whispered.

"What if it's-"

"Shhh. I'll handle it. Lock the door after I leave," I said, slipping out the door.

I walked down the stairs, and sure enough, Ross was standing near the door. I took a deep breath. Ok, here we go…

"Hey Ross. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Uh, I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Riker."

"Did you find him!?"

"Uh, no. I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

"Is he ok!?"

"Uh, I don't know. I was actually going to ask you if he was here, but apparently not…"

"Why would he be here?"

"I don't know. I just thought maybe he would come here...?"

"Why?"

"Well I don't know anywhere else he would go."

"Oh… Well how's Rocky doing?"

"He's… really scared… and upset…"

"Awww."

"He thinks Riker won't come back because he hates him for telling on him."

"Oh come on. Riker wouldn't hate him for that. He was just worried."

"Well I know that, and you know that, but Rocky doesn't think that."

"Well I just hope he comes back soon."

"Me too. Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to come over later."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could talk some sense into Rocky."

"I don't know. This week was spring break, and I haven't finished a project for chemistry yet," I lied.

"Well, if you have some free time, I know it would really help if you talked to Rocky."

"Ok. I'll keep that in mind."

"Thanks. So I guess maybe I'll see you later then…?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Ok. Bye Kat."

"Bye Ross."

I walked back upstairs. My door was locked, so I tapped quietly. The last thing I needed was for my dad or Cody to walk by and ask me why I was knocking on my own door. I heard my bed squeak, and a few seconds later, Riker was at the door.

"Kat? Is that you?" Riker whispered through the door.

"Yes."

Riker unlocked the door and let me in.

"So who was it?" Riker asked.

"Ross. He thought you were here."

"What did you say?"

"I said you weren't, and I hope you come back soon. I'm not sure, but I think he bought it."

"Ok good."

"But he told me about Rocky. He's falling apart. He thinks you won't come back because of him. He thinks you hate him…"

"I could never hate him. He's my brother. Sometimes he's annoying, but I love him."

I sighed.

"What?" Riker asked.

"Maybe you should go home tonight."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Riker POV**

"What!? Why should I go back tonight!?"

"Because the longer you stay away, the longer you hurt your family, especially Rocky."

"What's one more day going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying maybe you should go back tonight."

"Are you going to make me?"

"I can't _make_ you do _anything_. But I really think you should."

I didn't know what to say anymore. I didn't want to go back yet, but I didn't want to disappoint Kat either.

"Riker, I'll go with you. Please. Come on."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"What?"

"Not yet!"

"Riker-"

"I'll go back tonight, just not yet. Ok?"

"Why not now?"

"I'm not mentally prepared for everything that's about to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see…"

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

"Come on Riker. You said you'd go in an hour, and it's been an hour!"

"5 more minutes!"

"Riker-"

"Ok, ok, fine! I'm coming!"

"Don't forget your suitcase!" I called up the stairs.

I walked outside and waited for Riker to make his way down.

"Ok, let's go."

"Wait, where's your suitcase?"

"I want an excuse to come back later."

"Riker-"

"Only if I need to!"

"Fine."

Riker and I slowly walked down the street to his house.

"Wait. We should probably go get my car."

"We can get your car later! Stop stalling and come on."

I grabbed Riker's hand, and we kept walking down the street. Riker stopped when we were in front of his house.

"Well come on," I said, pulling his hand.

"I don't know if I can do this Kat."

"What are you talking about? You're not going back now!"

"Kat-"

"Riker, this is ridiculous. We're here. You're home. Go inside!"

"You knock."

"We don't need to knock! It's your house!"

"Just knock!"

"Fine. Come here!" I said, pulling Riker up his front steps.

I knocked on his door. Riker tried leaving, but I held onto his hand tight.

"What are you doing!?"

"I can't do this!"

"Riker stop!"

"RIKER YOU'RE BACK!"

Rocky almost tackled his brother, giving him a hug.

"Riker I was so scared! Don't ever do that again!" Rocky shouted, only inches away from Riker's ear.

A few seconds later, the rest of the Lynchs came running out, surrounding Riker with hugs.

"Where were you!?" Rydel asked.

"I… I was… uh…"

"Where?"

"I just stayed in my car…"

"Riker, can I talk to you for a minute? Kat, you too?" Riker's father asked.

"Uh yeah," said Riker, not looking at his father.

Everyone went inside, leaving Riker and I alone with Mark Lynch.

"Where were you? Do _not_ lie to me."

"I was…"

"He was at my house."

"I suspected that."

"Why?" Riker asked.

"You know how Rydel was finishing the lyrics to the new song? She found your notebook in your room, left it in the kitchen, and on the inside, it said "Riker and Kat 4ever" on it. I asked Rocky about it, and he said you used to date Kat, but broke up. He also told me about… Never mind… I've see her around a lot, so I figured you guys were still friends. And when I found your car parked down the road, without you in it, well there weren't many places you would be."

I could see Riker's face turn red when his dad said "Riker and Kat 4ever" and I thought that was pretty funny.

"Oh…" Riker said, looking at the ground.

"Riker, I'm sorry for the other night. But I do think you need to follow the rules, otherwise there _will_ be consequences. But for right now, I think you should come back home. At least until we get your eating habits under control."

"Ok," said Riker, still not looking at his father.

"Riker, you made us very worried, leaving like that. We love you so much. We couldn't imagine if anything ever happened to you."

"Sorry…"

"And you should apologize to Kat too for staying at her house like that."

"Sorry Kat," Riker mumbled, still staring at the ground.

"No , you don't understand. It wasn't his fault for staying at my house. The night he left, Rocky called me and told me what happened. I went running down the street looking for him. He was going to sleep in his car. I practically had to beg him to come stay at my house. I just couldn't let him sleep in his car! And believe me, when I ordered a pizza, we almost had a fight because I insisted on paying!"

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Thank you for having him stay over your house Kat."

"No problem."

Riker still hadn't looked up from the ground. Why?

"Well Riker, you should probably go upstairs and have a talk with Rocky. He's been very worried about you!"

Riker nodded slowly.

"Bye Riker," I said.

I gave Riker a hug before leaving. He put one arm around me, and he just… didn't really seem like himself… He slowly walked inside, and I went home. Glad that's over.

**Rocky POV**

My door opened, and Riker came walking in. He sat down on his bed, and wouldn't look at me.

"Riker, I'm so sorry I told mom and dad. I was just scared, and… you're my brother, I love you."

Riker still wouldn't look at me. What's his problem!?

"Riker, are you ok?"

Almost as soon as I asked him, he started crying and laid down on his bed.

"Riker, what's wrong?"

"It j-just h-hurts so m-much!

"What?"

"Everything!"

"Riker, calm down. What's going on?"

"I stayed at Kat's when I was gone. Ever since Friday night, I think Kat wants to be my friend again. She told me to stay away from her after we broke up. But after the past few days, and everything she said 5 minutes ago, I feel like that's all she'll ever want to be. I can see how much she cares about me, but I don't think she loves me. I just want her back Rocky!"

"I… don't know what to say… What do you want me to do?"

"There's nothing you can say or do to change anything. It's over!"

"What's over?"

"My entire life!"

"What do you mean?"

"She'll never love me! It's breaking me apart!"

"Riker, she was your first girlfriend. I know heartbreak feels like the end of the world right now, but this is your first time dealing with it. There's other girls out there who would be lucky to date you."

"I don't want anyone else. I want Kat."

"I don't think Kat's an option."

"Thanks Rocky. _That_ makes me feel better!"

Riker stormed out of our room and locked himself in the bathroom. He was just impossible sometimes! Whatever. He can go cry himself dry in the bathroom all night for all I care.

**A Few Days Later…**

**Kat POV**

I walked inside my house and up to my room. Cody heard me come home, and knocked on my door.

"What?" I called.

"Can I come in?"

"Fine."

"Where were you?"

"On a date."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Kat POV**

"On a date with who?" Cody asked.

"None of your business!"

"If I guess it, will you tell me if I'm right?"

"If after you guess it, you'll shut up and leave me alone for the rest of the night."

"Deal!"

"Ok, guess."

"Obviously, it's Riker."

"Why do you guess him?"

"It's obvious you like him."

"Well it wasn't him."

"What!?"

"I did _not_ go on a date with Riker."

"Then Ross?"

"Nope. Not Ross either."

"Who then?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"Wait, but I thought you weren't going to date for a while after you and Riker broke up."

"I wasn't going to, but… Someone came along…"

"Who!?"

"I'm not telling! You can either guess, or go away!"

"Fine, but I'll be back as soon as I think of someone!"

"Alright then Cody…"

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Cody came in my room without knocking.

"Thanks for knocking!" I said.

"_This_ is your boyfriend!?"

"Yeah? Problem?"

"Yeah!"

"Why!?"

"Kat!"

Cody pulled me out into the hall and closed the door.

"Kat! You can't tell Riker about this! And you _need_ to break up with him!"

"Why!?"

"Kat! Riker… He knows him."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"I think you just don't like that I have a boyfriend."

"What!? Kat no! Ross and I were hanging out yesterday, and he told me Riker's really depressed! You can't hurt him even more! He can't take anymore!"

"What are you talking about? I thought I got Riker back on track…?"

"I don't think so."

"But I didn't _do_ anything!"

"I don't know. I'm just telling you what Ross said."

"_Or_, you're lying because you don't want me to have a boyfriend!"

I turned and walked back into my room.

"Whose suitcase is this?"

"Oh, uh… Why don't we go return that actually. My brother for some reason thinks you know the person it belongs to."

"Uh… Ok."

We walked down the road to Riker's house, and I rang the doorbell.

**Riker POV**

"Come on Riker, get up!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I think I saw Kat walk down the road with someone, so she's probably the one who rang the doorbell. Don't you want to see her?"

"Yeah I guess."

I grabbed Rocky's hand, and he helped pull me out of bed. I jogged down the stairs. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened the door.

"Hey Riker. You still haven't gotten your suitcase, so I brought it over for you."

"What's… what's _he_ doing here?"

"He's uh… He's my boyfriend."

"Curt Mega!?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**Riker POV**

"Hey Riker."

"How do you guys know each other?"

"We were on the show Glee together. Is something wrong?" Curt asked.

"No. Uh… We should get going. I'll see you later Riker."

I closed the door and slid down to the ground.

"Riker, what's wrong? Was Kat there?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well what's wrong?"

"She has a boyfriend."

"Riker, you had to know she was going to start dating again sooner or later."

"No, it's not just that."

"Well what is it?"

"She's dating Curt."

"Wait. From Glee?"

"Yeah!"

"What's she doing dating _him_!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"I'm going to go talk to her."

"No, Rocky don't. I just… I don't want anything to do with her anymore. It just hurts too much."

"Riker, you guys need to talk about this!"

"Maybe you're right…"

"I am?"

"Yeah. I need to end this."

"What do you mean? Riker come back here!"

I slammed my door shut and locked Rocky out.

"Riker! Open the door! This is my room too!"

Rocky continued pounding at my door, but I wasn't unlocking it anytime soon.

**Kat POV**

"Wait, so he was on a TV show with you?"

"Yeah, Glee."

"How well did you guys know each other?"

"We were like best friends. But now that we're not on it anymore, we've kind of drifted apart I guess. I mean we still text each other sometimes. We're just not as close as we used to be."

We stopped outside my house.

"What?"

"I don't think this is going to work. I'm sorry Curt."

"What? Why?"

"You're Riker's friend. We… dated. I broke up with him, and he's still not exactly over it yet. I can't just turn around and date his best friend. It wouldn't be right."

"Oh… I understand…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Maybe I'll see you around Kat."

"Yeah. Bye Curt."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**Friday Night…**

**Kat POV**

I had just sat down to watch Netflix when someone knocked on the door downstairs. I'll let Cody or my parents get it… Oh wait, they're not here.

I ran down the stairs and unlocked the door.

"Riker!?"

"Kat, I need to talk to you."

'Sure, come in."

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Just listen. I can't talk to you or see you anymore. I know you want to be friends, and I do too, but it just hurts too much. Seeing you with Curt the other day, you don't know how much that hurt me. I can't… I can't do this anymore."

"Riker wait! I didn't know you guys knew each other! Don't you remember? Before I met you guys that first night, I hated you! It was Cody that knew everything about you! I had no idea you guys were on a show and were friends! If I had known that, I would've never said yes when he asked me out."

"Kat, it doesn't matter. You can date whoever you want, I don't care."

"Riker, I broke up with him."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because seeing your face a few days ago, it killed me inside to see how much that hurt you."

"It did hurt. A lot."

"I'm sorry Riker."

"Don't be. Your life's back to normal. You can do whatever you want."

"No, Riker, I-"

"No, stop. I… I have to go. Bye Kat."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

**Riker POV**

I turned and started walking back home.

"Riker wait!"

I kept walking and ignored Kat.

"RIKER!"

Kat ran up in front of me, stopping me.

"Riker, I'm sorry. I really didn't know."

"Kat, go home. I'm really just done."

"Well this conversation is _not_! Come back. I need to talk to you!"

I sighed and followed Kat back to her house. We sat down on the couch in her living room.

"Please talk to me, don't just sit there."

"What do you want me to say!? Why did you bring me back here?"

"I want to fix this!"

"You can't Kat! I can't believe you would do that to me!"

"I didn't know!"

"It doesn't matter Kat! It still hurts!"

"I know! I'm sorry! But I really didn't mean to!"

"Can I go home now?"

"Riker."

"What!?"

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that!"

"But I really am!"

"Can I leave now?"

"No! Not until this is fixed!"

"You can't fix it Kat! You can't!"

"But-"

"You can't Kat!"

"Well then why not!?"

"Because you'll never love me!"

I got up and bolted out of Kat's house. I turned back, and was glad she wasn't following me this time.

**Kat POV**

What have I done? What have I _done_!?

I called Ross.

"Ross?"

"Yeah? Why are you crying?"

"I messed up."

"How? Are you ok!?"

"Just… Just tell me when Riker gets back. I need to know that he's safe."

"Uh… ok? But-"

"I have to go. Just tell me when he gets back ok?"

"Yeah."

**Ross POV**

Almost at the exact time Kat hung up, the front door flew open.

"Riker, you're back. Where were you?"

"Don't talk to me."

"Riker-"

"I said don't talk to me!"

Riker ran up the stairs. I texted Kat that Riker was back, and went upstairs to see if I could help. I met Rocky outside his door.

"What's going on!?" I asked.

"I have no idea, but whatever it is, it's way worse than last time," said Rocky.

Rocky banged on his door a few times, but Riker wouldn't unlock it.

"I'll go get dad," I said.

I ran downstairs, and into my dad's office.

"Dad! You need to come help! Something happened with Riker and he won't open his door!"

My dad sprinted up the stairs faster than I've ever seen him move before.

"Riker, unlock this door!" My dad yelled.

Riker still didn't unlock it. He was going to be in such big trouble. We knew our dad meant business. My dad got the key above the doorframe and unlocked the door. We all ran in.

"RIKER!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

**11:30 PM**

**Kat POV**

I heard a knock on my door. I had no clue who it would be now.

"Ross!? Why are you crying!? What's wrong!?"

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah of course. What's going on!?"

"I don't want to be here or home. But your house is the better of the two."

"Should I be offended or…?"

"I know you didn't mean to, but you hurt my brother. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for that."

"Wait, so why aren't you home?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I just can't go back! Not tonight!"

"Ok, ok. But my parents wouldn't approve of me having a guy over, so you need to be really quiet when they get home, ok?"

"Sure, whatever."

I led Ross up to my room, and helped him set up a place to sleep, just like the nights Riker stayed over. Once we had it all set up, I shut off the light, and got in bed.

**2:00 AM**

**Kat POV**

I woke up immediately when I heard Ross scream. I grabbed my flashlight, and shined it next to my bed. Ross was huddled in the corner, hugging his legs to his chest, tears falling down his cheeks.

"Are you ok?"

"I just… Had a bad dream…"

"What was it about?"

Ross ran his hands through his hair and looked down.

"Ross…?"

"I can't get those images out of my head!"

"Shhh! Calm down! The images of what?"

"Tonight."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

**Ross POV**

"Wait. What are you talking about?"

"When we found Riker."

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and looked at Kat.

"I can't even begin to describe it Kat."

"Why!? Is Riker ok?"

"Barely."

"What happened?"

"After I hung up with you, Riker came home. He ran up and locked himself in his room. Rocky and I were really scared, so we got our dad. He unlocked Riker's door, and we went inside."

"Go on!"

"He was sitting in the corner of the room. He was so pale and shaky. He could barely breathe, he was crying so hard. My dad was really mad he didn't open the door, but when he saw Riker, he didn't care anymore. My dad and I helped him stand up and walk downstairs. He was so sweaty. Rocky pulled Riker's shirt off so he could cool down a little. You should've seen how thin he was! He said he was eating, but he was lying! He could've died, Kat! My brother could've died! I just don't understand _anything_ anymore!"

"Well why are you at my house then?"

"I couldn't be around Riker. I couldn't let him see me cry. It would only make him feel worse."

"So leaving him would make him feel better!?"

"Well… I guess not…"

"I can't believe he did that! He _told_ me he was getting better!"

"We apparently he wasn't…"

"Do you think your dad would let me talk to him?"

"I honestly don't think so. I don't think he blames you for what happened, but I don't think he wants you making it worse either."

"Ok. Well when are you going back home?"

"I think I should actually go home now."

"Please tell him I'm sorry. I never meant for anything like this to happen."

"I know you didn't. You were his first girlfriend though. He doesn't know how to handle stuff like this. He'll be ok."

I watched the tears roll down Kat's cheeks. I gave her a hug, and then went home.

**Rocky POV**

I woke up immediately when I heard the front door open and close. I looked across the room and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Riker was still asleep on the couch. For a moment I thought he tried to sneak out. Wait! Who was in my house!?

"Hello?" I whispered, realizing I probably shouldn't have.

"Rocky?"

"Shhh! Over here," I whispered back, realizing it was Ross.

I grabbed Ross's arm, and quietly walked down to the basement with him.

"I thought you were staying at Kat's tonight."

"I was, but she and I both agreed that I should probably be here. For Riker."

"Did something happen?"

"No not really."

"Ross."

"Ok, I had a nightmare. It was Riker. It was everything that happened tonight just playing over and over. I was so scared Rocky! What if something had happened to him!?"

"I know… I was pretty scared too. But nothing _did_ happen, and Riker's fine."

"Speaking of Riker, why are you guys sleeping in the living room?"

"After you left, he refused to go back upstairs. He… also refused to speak… So dad just let him stay on the couch. Rydel brought down his pillows and a few blankets. He just sat on the couch for a while, but he eventually got too tired, and laid down and went to sleep."

"Then why are you down here with him?"

"Dad didn't want him down here alone. He was afraid he would try to leave or hurt himself or something. He asked me to stay down here and just keep an eye on him."

"Ok. Well can I stay down here with you guys?"

"Uh yeah I guess, but you'll have to sleep on the ground."

"I don't care. I'm just glad Riker's ok. I can't imagine if anything ever happened to him."

"Me either. Let's go back upstairs. I'm exhausted."

"Me too. Let's go."

Ross and I walked back upstairs to the living room as quietly as we could.

"Rocky?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Riker?"


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

**Rocky POV**

My heart started pounding. Riker was gone! The whole reason I was down here was to keep an eye on him, and now he was gone! What if he was only pretending to be asleep? What if he had a whole plan to do something? What if-

"Rocky! He's fine!" Ross whispered, pointing down the hall.

Riker was leaving the bathroom with a sleepy look on his face. I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Riker walked over and laid back down on the couch without even looking at us. Guess he wasn't feeling any better…

I laid back down on my couch, looking in Riker's direction. His eyes were closed, but I knew he wasn't asleep. I knew he was thinking.

Ross stood there awkwardly for a minute, staring at Riker too. I ended up letting him squeeze onto the couch with me. I didn't sleep very well. I was paranoid about Riker and two guys can't really sleep on a couch together too confortably.

**The Next Morning…**

**Rocky POV**

I woke up as soon as I heard movement. It wasn't Riker though. He was still asleep on the couch in the exact same position he was last night. It was Ross. He was making himself a bowl of cereal. I looked at my phone and it was barely 7:00. We were never up this early. It felt weird. I got up too, since I was now wide awake.

"What are you doing up?" Ross asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Me either. I was so scared last night. I thought he'd left."

"Kat wants to talk to him."

"You think that's a good idea?"

"No. But she feels really bad. She thinks it's all her fault!"

"It _is_ all her fault!"

"She did nothing wrong! People are allowed to break up with other people! People are allowed to date whoever they want! There aren't written rules about this! Riker overreacted and you know it!"

"I can't believe you're taking Kat's side on this!"

"I can't believe you're taking _Riker's_ side!

"Ross, how can you say this is Riker's fault!?"

"I'm not saying it's his fault. I'm saying he overreacted a bit. You know he bottles everything up! It was only a matter of time before he exploded!"

"Well I'm glad you feel that way about me. Now I know 2 people who hate me!" Riker shouted before storming out the front door.

"Riker wait! You're not allowed to leave!"

"I can do whatever I want to!"

"Riker stop! You're only hurting yourself even more!"

Riker rolled his eyes and turned to keep walking to his car.

"Riker stop!" I shouted.

He ignored me, and opened his door. I ran over to him as he tried to close it, but I stopped him. I grabbed the keys from his hand and threw them as far as I could away from us.

"Riker. You need help."

"I don't need anything unless it's Kat, and since we all know that's not going to happen-"

"Riker, stop! You need to move on from this! But first, you need to come back inside."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"So you're just going to sit in your car then!? You don't have keys!"

"Well I would, if someone hadn't thrown them into the street!"

"Riker, stop. You know just as well as I do, that you're not making smart decisions, and it's a good thing you don't have your keys!"

"I called Kat. She's coming over!" Ross called.

"Why!?" I screamed.

"They need to talk this out! I think it'll help him!"

"You think it'll help me!?" Riker shouted, pushing me away from his door.

"Riker calm down!" I said, grabbing his arm.

"Let go of me! Let me talk to her."

"Wait. Why do you _want_ to talk to her?" I asked, confused.

Riker sighed.

"Because I love her."

My eyes widened.

"What!? How can you still say that!?"

"RIKER! ROCKY!" Kat shouted, sprinting down the road in her pajamas.

"Come on Riker. You guys can talk inside."

"I said I'm not going anywhere. If I'm talking to her, it'll be right here."

Kat finally got here, and ran over to Riker, throwing her arms around him.

"Riker, I'm _so_ sorry! I had no idea what was going on! Please don't hate me!" Kat cried.

Riker slowly wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I could never hate you."

"Ok, I _do_ _not_ understand this!" I shouted, throwing my arms up into the air.

"Rocky, be quiet. Let them talk."

But they didn't talk. Riker held Kat to him while she cried. After 10 minutes of this, I was frustrated.

"You know what? You guys do what you want. I'm done trying to protect you!" I shouted at Riker.

He just didn't understand that Kat was no good for him. She didn't love him, and he needed to move on. I stormed up the stairs, probably waking people up. But I couldn't care less.

**Kat POV**

I could hear Riker's heartbeat as I cried into his chest. I was so scared he would hurt himself. I was just glad he was ok. I couldn't imagine my life without this moment, right now. I loved the feeling of being loved by someone. My parents always loved me and Cody, but sometimes it just didn't feel like it. I was glad I had Riker in my life. He's changed me in so many ways.

"Riker?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk? At my house?"

"Sure."

"Riker, dad isn't going to like this!" Ross shouted.

"I don't care what dad says! He wasn't there for me when- well you know… But Kat was."

"I still don't think this is a good idea. Riker, you're still hurting."

"I need to hear what she has to say. This is just one of those things I have to do."

"Ok, but you're going to be in big trouble."

"Whatever!"

Riker grabbed my hand, and started pulling me towards my house. Once we were in my room, I sat down on my bed, and Riker sat down next to me.

"Riker, I just want to know how you can still love me. After all this! After everything I've put you through! I've put you through so much! I just don't understand!"

"Kat, when you fall in love with someone, you'll always have feelings for them."

"So?"

"That's part of how I'm still hanging on. I know, somewhere… you still love me. I've just been hoping… that you can find that place again."

**Riker POV**

Kat buried her face into my shoulder.

"Kat, please don't cry…"

"No one has ever loved me like you before. I… It's just… hard to understand I guess…"

"Why is it hard to understand? I love you Kat. What more is there to be understood about that?"

"Everything! You don't know about my past. I've been told "I love you" before, but it was a lie. He didn't love me. And it hurt so much. And when I thought you were cheating on me… It hurt because I felt like I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough for you, and I was being replaced!"

"But I didn't cheat on you!"

"I know! But I still went through that! And even last night! You had me so scared! Ross came over and told me what happened. I thought there was a chance I would never see you again…"

I don't know how exactly, but Kat had gotten on my lap, still crying into my shoulder.

"Kat-"

"How could you do that to yourself!?"

"Do what?"

"Starve yourself like that!? You were hurting yourself!"

"I was just upset!"

"Well do you know how upset _I_ was when I thought you had cheated on me? But I didn't do anything crazy like that!"

"Kat, I know, I just-"

"And then to find out it was because of me! That was the worst part of it all! Knowing that _I_ caused you to hurt yourself!"

"Kat. Calm down!"

"No. You need to promise me, you won't ever do anything like that again."

"Kat-"

"Riker say it!"

"Kat-"

"Say it!"

"I can't!"

"Why not!?"

"As long as I don't have you…I just…"

"Well then maybe that needs to change."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

**Riker POV**

"What?"

"Maybe that needs to change."

"What do you mean?"

"If me going out with you will keep you safe, then that's what needs to happen."

"Kat, I don't want you to do that."

"Why not? Isn't this whole thing about you being upset because I broke up with you?"

"Well yeah, but if you're going out with me just to go out with me, that'll just hurt even more."

"But Riker-"

"Kat, we need a break."

"But-"

"No. Give us both at least a week. We both need some time. We both need to think some things over. Then, if you still want to go out with me, and it's for the right reasons, maybe we can make that work."

It killed me inside saying every last one of those words. But I needed to. It was the right thing to do.

"Riker…"

"Kat, we have to."

"I don't understand. You finally get the chance to get what you want, and you just throw it away."

"It's not like that!"

"What is it then!?"

"I don't think… you're in love with me… I think you're just hurt and upset. I mean, maybe, if I'm lucky, you're actually in love with me. But we won't know until we let some time pass."

Kat shook her head.

"Fine…"

Kat got up from my lap and opened her door.

"Bye Riker."

"I'll… Whatever… I'm sorry Kat…"

I quickly left Kat's house and walked back to my own. Rocky, Ross, and my dad were standing on our front steps with their arms crossed. Oh boy…

"Riker. Why did you leave?" My dad asked.

"I was talking to Kat."

"I don't want you seeing her."

"I don't think that'll be a problem anymore."

I pushed past my dad, and went up to my room. I felt completely numb to the world around me. Nothing really mattered anymore. Rocky came upstairs.

"So… What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing!? You were there for 20 minutes!"

"Rocky, look. I just… can't right now…"

"I know. Sorry. But when you want to talk about it, I'll be here. And I'm sorry about everything I said earlier."

"It's ok."

**Later…**

**Ross POV**

I nervously stood on Kat's front steps, and knocked on her door.

"Ross?"

"Hey Cody. Is Kat here?"

"Uh… Yeah… But I'm not sure you want to go up there…"

"Why?"

"She's… a mess…"

I ran up the stairs to Kat's room.

"Kat?"

I opened her door, and found her hiding under the blankets on her bed. I sat down next to her, and pulled the covers off her face.

"Kat? Riker told me everything. Are you… in love with him?"

"I don't know! I'm so confused!"

"Is that why you're upset?"

"No! Well yes! Well… I don't know! I just feel like… He doesn't care about me anymore. I know he says he loves me, but if he did, he wouldn't have left me like that!"

"Kat, he loves you! So much! These last few days have been exhausting for him though! When I left to come here, he was asleep on the couch."

"Why _did_ you come here?"

"After what Riker told me, I thought you would need someone to talk to."

"I'm fine Ross. But thanks for coming over."

"You're not fine. There's something else you're not telling me. What is it?"

"I… Ok… Well this Saturday… It's our end of the year school dance. I bought a dress and… I was going to ask Riker…"

"So wait. You do like him?"

"I… I don't know. I just didn't want to go alone."

"Well why don't you ask him? I know he doesn't want to talk until next week, but I'm sure he would understand that you-"

"No. Please… Don't tell him. I shouldn't have even told you."

"Kat?"

"What?"

"Would you let _me_ take you?"

"Why would you want to take _me_?"

"Because I care about you, and I _want_ to take you."

"Really? I don't want you to do this if you don't want to."

"I want to! Really, I do!"

"Well… Ok… And thank you."

"I love you Kat."

"You what!?"

"No! I mean, like a sister."

"Oh. Ok."

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

"Riker wake up! Riker wake up!"

Ross was shaking me. I looked around the room for a second. Why was I in the living room?

"Why am I…?"

"You fell asleep. Come on. It's time for dinner. I didn't think you wanted to miss it," Ross said pulling me off the couch.

I groaned, but followed him slowly. For a second I felt really dizzy. I guess I stood up too fast.

"Riker? You ok?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy. I'm fine."

Ross pulled my chair out for me, I sat down, and everyone seemed to be staring at me. I couldn't see all that well though because I didn't have my contacts in or my glasses.

"You're not leaving the table until you finish what's on this plate," my mom said, handing me a plate full of food.

"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Well, too bad!" Said my dad, also sarcastically.

He seemed to be in a better mood from earlier, and I was glad. I didn't need him adding to my stress.

"So Riker, what are you doing this weekend?" Ross asked.

"I don't know… I don't really have plans…"

"Well, now you do! You can't stay in bed forever."

"Uh… Ok…"


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**Friday Morning…**

**Kat POV**

"Kat get up! Come on! You're going to be late for school!" My mom yelled, shaking me.

"I'm not going," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Kat, you most certainly are! You're not missing school just because you're tired or lazy!"

"Mom, let her stay home. She… She needs to," said Cody, standing in my doorway.

"Why?"

"It's kind of hard to explain. But trust me. She really shouldn't be back at school yet."

"Well… Ok. But you better be back on Monday."

My mom walked out as Cody walked in.

"Thank you!" I said, wrapping my arms around Cody.

"You're welcome. I don't exactly know what's going on, but I know school's probably the last place you want to be right now."

"Yeah…"

"Are you still going to the dance tomorrow night?"

"Yeah."

"You are!?"

"Ross is taking me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't really know why exactly…"

"Are you going to be ok today?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Because I can get Ross or Rocky to come over and check on you. Mom and dad will be at work. They won't know."

"No. I think I'll be fine."

"Kat? I have something I need to tell you."

"What?"

"I'm sorry about erasing your phone and stuff."

"You know they couldn't get the pictures off my laptop? Everything's gone."

"I know. But… I have something for you," Cody said, handing me a memory stick.

"What's this?"

"Your pictures… And… something else… But don't look at the last file until tomorrow night after the dance, ok?"

"Ok. Is it really all my pictures?"

"Yeah. Before I erased your phone, I took all your pictures off. You don't think I'd be _that_ mean, do you?"

"Well I was kind of convinced!"

"Well-"

"CODY! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" My mom yelled.

"BE RIGHT THERE! I'll see you in a few hours. Please don't do anything stupid. You're my sister, and I love you. I don't want to see anything happen to you like it almost did to Riker."

"I love you too Cody."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

Who was knocking at my door now!? I had told Cody I didn't want anyone checking on me. I pulled myself out of bed and headed for the door.

"Ross!? What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk about the dance for a minute?"

"Sure. Come in."

"Thanks."

Ross and I sat down at the kitchen table.

"So I think you said that you already had a dress…?"

"Yeah."

"Can I see it?"

"Uh yeah…? Why?"

"I want to make sure I pick something to match."

"Uh… Ok…"

**Ross POV**

Kat came down the stairs holding her dress. If it looked this pretty when she wasn't wearing it, I could only imagine how it would look Saturday night…

"Wow. That's beautiful. What made you pick that shade of blue?"

"I don't know. I just liked it I guess…"

"Well it looks really pretty."

"Thanks."

"So Cody told me you stayed home today."

"Well yeah obviously… I just… Couldn't go back yet. So much happened yesterday."

"Yeah. Well what time do you want me to pick you up on Saturday?"

"Uh I don't know. The dance is at 7:00."

"Ok, well do you want to go out for dinner first?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean… The whole dance thing already seems like a date…"

"It'll be fine, trust me. Plan on leaving around 5:00 tomorrow. Ok?"

"But won't Riker be upset?"

"I don't think so."

"Ross. Seriously!?"

"Look, don't worry about that, ok? All you need to do is have an amazing night."

"Well I can try…"

"Kat. You're going to have an amazing night."

She still didn't seem convinced. I knew she was worried about Riker.

**Friday night…**

**Ross POV**

I had just walked in the door when Rocky stopped me. He wouldn't let me pass.

"Dude what's your problem!?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what!?"

"You know what!"

Rocky pulled me back out the door.

"Why were you at Kat's house for most of the day?"

"We're friends Rocky!"

"More specifically, boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"No!"

"Really?"

"I'm not dating her Rocky!"

"Yeah right. You even look guilty!"

"I'm not!"

"You came home today after lunch. You went upstairs for about 20 minutes, and then you went back to Kat's. I went to your room after you left. Explain the ties!"

"It's not what it looks like!"

"What is it then?"

"I'm taking her out to dinner tomorrow night, and then to her school dance."

"She doesn't seem like a dance kind of person…? Well what are you doing all that for if you're not dating her?"

"You have to promise that you won't tell Riker."

"Ross, I swear, if you hurt him any more than-"

"Rocky! Stop! Listen to me!"

"What?"

"I'm not really taking her to her dance. Well I mean, I am, but she won't be dancing with _me_."

"Who then?"

"Riker."

"What!?"

"I haven't exactly run this by Riker yet, but I'm planning on surprising them both somehow. I don't really have a plan yet. But I'm going to pick Kat up, take her out to dinner, and then to her dance. Somehow I need to get Riker there too, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do about that yet."

"Well I could drive him there."

"Ok, but we still need a reason to tell him, and a reason for him to get all dressed up."

"I'll just tell him I'm bringing him to a party. That's technically not a lie."

"Ok, but I have to sneak in his room and pick out a tie from his closet. It has to match Kat's dress."

"Well based on the ties on your bed, is her dress blue?"

"Yup."

"Riker's favorite color…"

"Yeah. It's like it's… meant to be."

"Quoting your movie now?"

"Oh stop."

"Ross… I'm just… Not sure we should be doing this."

"Come on Rocky. Riker loves her."

"Yeah but Kat thinks she's going to the dance with _you_."

"Yeah…? That's kind of the point…?"

"No. I mean, she's not expecting Riker. This might turn out badly."

"I don't think so. She told me she was actually going to ask Riker to take her before they… you know…"

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was really upset. That's why I offered to take her."

"Ok, fine let's do this."

"Ok. Tomorrow night, I'm picking her up at 5:00 to go out to dinner. The dance starts at 7:00, so you'll need to be there by then."

"Ok, so what should I tell Riker?"

"Tell him… you're taking him to a party. And the theme is blue. You can tell him that's why he's wearing the blue tie."

"So what's he supposed to wear exactly?"

"Black pants, black shoes, a black dress shirt, and whatever blue tie I pick out."

"Ok."

"There's still more details we need to work out, but we'll figure it out."

**Saturday Afternoon…**

**Kat POV**

"Kat come on! You can't stay in bed forever! Ross told me he was taking you to the dance tonight! Get up!" Cody yelled.

I groaned. Bad idea. Cody got on my bed and started jumping up and down, making me feel like I was on some crazy ride or something.

"KAT! GET! UP! NOW!"

"Cody get off!"

"Then get up!"

"I don't feel like it. It's Saturday. Leave me alone. WHAAA!"

Cody grabbed my leg and pulled me out of bed. Literally. I was now sprawled out on the floor.

"What'd you do that for!?"

"I'm not letting you miss that dance. I know how important it is to you."

"It's only 3:30. Ross is picking me up at 5:00. I still have an hour and a half."

"Exactly! Only an hour and a half! Get moving!"

"Ugh…"

"I _will_ drag you into the shower."

"Ok! Ok! I'm going, I'm going!"

**Ross POV**

"Ok. This is a picture of the tie Riker needs to wear," I told Rocky.

"Ok, got it. Do you know where his other clothes are?"

"I don't know! Probably in his closet. Just ask him."

"I'm just worried about this whole thing."

"It'll be fine. In an hour, I'll pick Kat up, we'll go have dinner, and we'll go to the dance at 7:00. You and Riker will leave at 6:30 for the dance, which he'll think is a party, and meet us there."

"Wait. How exactly is the whole thing going to work with Riker and Kat meeting?"

"I… don't know yet…"

"Ross! You said you'd come up with something!"

"I know. Doing that right now…"

"Ross!"

"Don't worry about it! I still have an hour to think of something. Why don't you go work on prying Riker out of bed, and get him into the shower."

"Ok. Fine…"

"I'll tell you the plan before I leave."

"Ok. Wait! What are you wearing, and what am I wearing?"

"Same thing as Riker, black everything, and a blue tie as close to the color of the one in the picture."

"Ok. Got it."

**Riker POV**

"Alright Riker. Time to get up!" Rocky said, walking into our room.

I groaned and turned over in bed.

"Come on! You need to take a shower. What happened to the "I can't sleep until I take a shower" Riker? Where's he? All you care about now is lying in bed all day."

"That's not all I care about…"

"Oh enough already. Come on. Get up."

I rolled my eyes and pulled the blankets over my head.

"Riker! Ok, at least tell me where your clothes are."

"I don't want you touching my clothes!" I said, throwing the blankets back off.

"Yes I am! You have to dress a certain way tonight. I'm taking you to a party."

"A party? Now?"

"Not yet, but tonight!"

"Rocky, I don't really think-"

"Riker, you're coming! Now go! Get in the shower. I'll throw your clothes in with you when I find everything!"

Rocky pushed me out of the room and shut the door. I figured whether I go to this party or not, I still needed a shower. 3 days without a shower… I wasn't looking the best…

**Kat POV**

After my shower, I got dressed, and stepped back into my room. Cody was sitting on my bed staring at me.

"Whoa Kat! You look… Amazing!"

"What are you doing in my room?"

"Just making sure you're going through with it."

"Through with what?"

"Going to the dance and stuff."

"Uh… Ok…?"

I walked over to my desk and pulled out some of my makeup. I wasn't normally much of a makeup person, but a dance was supposed to be fancy and stuff. Once I was finished, I turned back to Cody, who was still here for some reason.

"Could you get any prettier?"

"Cody stop. I know you're just saying that."

"No Kat. Seriously! You look _amazing_!"

"Well… Thanks…"

"You don't even look like yourself anymore! You never wear dresses! This is so weird!"

"Yeah… Ok… Well Ross will be here in a few minutes to pick me up, so…"

"Maybe I'll see you at the dance."

"Are you going with someone?"

"No. But I've been a horrible brother. I want to be there for you. I want to see you having the best night ever."

"Cody stop! You're going to make me cry! And I don't really know how to fix eye makeup!"

Cody laughed.

"Sorry. I just realized… You're my sister. And you're really important to me. I just want you to be happy."

"Awww!"

I gave Cody a hug before walking down the stairs to wait for Ross. This was going to be a good night. I could feel it!


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

**Rocky POV**

After searching for like 20 minutes, I finally found everything Riker needed to wear for tonight. I don't know how he could find anything in his closet! It was so unorganized!

"Rocky!"

I ran into the hallway. I had no idea who was calling me.

"Yeah!?"

"Where are my clothes?"

It was Riker.

"I'm… still getting them…"

"Rocky I need to put clothes on! Just give me anything!"

"No! Just wait a minute!"

"Rocky-"

"Just wait! I'm almost done!"

I ran back into our room and picked up everything Riker needed, then walked back over to the bathroom door.

"Riker I have your clothes."

"Ok, well give them to me."

**Ross POV**

"Ok, so you're sure this is going to work?" I asked.

"Positive. It'll be perfect," said Rydel.

"Ok. Great!"

I was in Rydel's room. We had just finished coming up with a plan for tonight. I just hoped it would work.

"Rocky!"

"What!?"

Riker and Rocky were shouting between their room and the bathroom again. This was getting really annoying…

"You forgot to give me something!"

"No I didn't! I made sure you had everything!"

"Everything except underwear!"

**Kat POV**

"What time did Ross say he was going to pick you up?"

"5:00."

"He's going to be late if he doesn't hurry up."

"Oh stop. He's being really nice by taking me to the dance _and_ out to dinner! If he's a few minutes late, that doesn't really matter."

**Ross POV**

"Rocky, I have to go! I'm going to be late!"

"You never told me… You know!"

"Ugh! Ok, Rydel's coming with you guys. She's going to dance with Riker in the beginning. I'm going to dance with Kat. We're planning on doing that switch partners thing without them knowing, and then Rydel's going to be with me, and Kat with Riker. She's also going to surprise Cody. I think she likes him."

"Ok, you're going to need to text me. I still have a ton of questions."

"Ok. I have to go. I'll see you tonight!"

"Yup. See you there."

"Oh, and if you have any quick questions, you can try asking Rydel. She might know."

"Ok. Have fun!"

"I will."

"Bye."

I ran out the front door, got in my car, and drove off down the road to Kat's house. I stood nervously at her door, waiting for her to answer it. I was shocked when it was Cody, and not Kat.

"Hey Ross! You look nice."

"Thanks. So do you. Is Kat here?"

"Yeah, come in."

I felt like I was in one of those cute movies. Kat came walking down the stairs in the dress and a black jacket. It was one of those dresses that came to about knee length, and looked like something a girl would wear in a dance number if she was going to get twirled. Her hair, her face, her dress, everything looked amazing. Wait, how long have I been staring at her?

"Ready?" Kat asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

I opened Kat's car door for her, and before I knew it, we were headed to the restaurant.

"So are you excited for the dance?" I asked.

"Of course I'm excited. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I don't mean this in a bad way, but you just don't really strike me as a girl who likes to dance."

"I'm not."

"Exactly. And I was just worried because you had wanted to go with Riker."

"Well yeah… I mean, that's what I was planning on doing. I bought this dress because of him. It's his favorite color. Now he won't even get to see me in it. Speaking of him, how's he doing?"

"Uh… You know, he's not really that good right now, but I think he'll be doing better really soon."

"Good. I just wish there was some way to make it up to him, you know? Like I wish I could go back in time or something and undo everything. I've tried talking to him, but… I don't know. I don't think he really likes me anymore."

"Kat, he loves you."

Kat sighed.

"Maybe…"

**Riker POV**

"Stop touching me!" I shouted.

"I need to fix your tie!"

"It's practically choking me! Why do I have to go to this stupid party anyway?"

"Because you need something to take your mind off… you know…"

"I really don't want to go, Rocky."

"Oh come on! Rydel's going!"

"Why is _she_ going?"

"Because it's a fun event!"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Riker, you're coming."

"Fine… Stop touching me!"

"Hold on! It's almost fixed. There. Aren't you going to thank me?"

"Thank you oh so very much Rocky, for fixing the stupid tie, you're forcing me to wear, to some stupid party, you're forcing me to go to."

"That's better," Rocky said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes again. Whatever… We walked past Rydel's room, and downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to eat before we left.

"Why isn't Rydel wearing blue?"

"Because… She didn't have anything she liked."

"Didn't she just buy-"

"Oh look! It's starting to rain out!"

"What?"

"It's raining."

"Ok…? So why doesn't she have to wear blue?"

"Enough with the questions! Now eat something. I don't know if there's going to be food at the place tonight."

"I'm not really that hungry."

"Riker."

"What?"

"Eat."

"I said, I'm not hungry."

"We're not leaving until there's food inside of you!"

"Works for me!"

"Riker, come on! I'll tell dad about this."

"No! Don't tell dad!"

"Then eat!"

"Ugh fine!"

**Later…**

**Kat POV**

"Ready to head to the dance?" Ross asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

We arrived at my school. How Ross knew where my school was, I have no idea. Ross took my hand, and we walked inside.

"So, do you have any friends you want to say hi to?"

"No."

"Kat. Go on. It's fine."

"I don't have any friends. That's why I wanted to take Riker, so I wouldn't be alone."

**Riker POV**

"Wait. This is a school. I thought you said we were going to a party," I said.

"It's a dance."

"Why did you bring me to a dance!?"

"Because you'll have fun!"

"Rocky!"

"Oh shush! Come on, let's go," Rocky said, parking the car.

I followed Rocky and Rydel inside. It was really dark, and kind of loud with all the music and people around. Rydel turned to me suddenly.

"Come here Riker. Let's dance," Rydel said, grabbing my hand, and pulling me away.

"What? Ok…?"

I followed Rydel, not that I really had a choice, and started dancing with her. I knew how to slow dance since I used to dance at a studio called The Rage when we still lived in our other house. We normally didn't dance to slower songs, but they still occasionally gave us classes for it.

I noticed Rydel wasn't really paying much attention to me. She was staring at something behind me, and whatever it was, was moving. She kept turning me so she could keep an eye on whatever it was. She probably knew someone here.

"Rydel? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Rydel."

"Ok, I'm looking at Ross. He came here too. We're going to swap partners so I can dance with him too, ok?"

"During the song?"

"Yeah. You know, you'll spin me out and spin someone else back in. Remember how to do that?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it," I said, slightly annoyed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Riker, you can tell me."

"It just feels like you're ditching me for Ross."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to. I just-"

"No. It's fine. Go ahead. Tell me when you want me to spin you out."

"Riker-"

"It's fine Rydel!"

I felt a little bit guilty for blowing up at her like that, but I just felt like nobody cared about me anymore! I didn't even want to be at this place, and now I was being ditched. Great…

"Ok, spin me to the right, and slightly backwards, and Ross's partner will come to you."

"Ok."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

**Riker POV**

I spun Rydel out to the right, and waited for the other girl to come to me. When I saw who my new partner was, my mouth fell wide open, and I covered it with my hand, and froze completely.

"Riker!?"

"K-Kat!?"

Kat bit her lip, looked down, and stood completely still, just like me. She looked really nervous, upset, confused, and in shock all at the same time. I could tell she was thinking a million things at once, unlike me. Only one thing came to my mine. _Dance with her_.

"K-Kat?" I asked nervously.

I could feel my heart pounding inside of me. Kat just stood there, still looking at the ground.

"Kat? Can I… Can I have this dance?" I asked, holding my hand out to her.

Instead of taking my hand, Kat practically threw herself into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and leaned her head against my shoulder, as I wrapped my arms around her as well. We slowly swayed back and forth to the song.

"YES!"

I turned around to see who had shouted. Rocky, Ross, Rydel, and Cody were all staring at us with huge smiles on their faces. I laughed to myself and turned my attention back to Kat. I hadn't realized until now that she was crying.

"Kat?"

She wouldn't look at me. Some of her makeup was running down her cheeks with her tears. I gently wiped it off with my thumb.

"Kat?" I tried again.

"I can't do it."

"Do what?"

"I can't wait a whole week."

"What are you talking about?"

"I love you."

"What?"

"Riker Anthony Lynch. I need you to listen to me. I love you. _So_ much. I don't need any more time to realize that. It was stupid for me to break up with you. I should've believe you. Please. Please take me back.

My mouth fell open again for the second time tonight? What do I say!?


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

**Riker POV**

Instead of saying anything, I leaned in and kissed Kat. It felt different than anything else ever had. Maybe because now I knew I was truly in love with her. When we broke apart Kat looked at me.

"Do you really love me?" Kat asked.

"More than anything," I said, realizing I was crying too.

Kat wrapped me up in another hug, and we swayed back and forth again. She was finally mine!

**Ross POV**

YES! IT WORKED! I was so happy everything turned out how I hoped it would. They're perfect for each other, and seeing them apart was hard on everyone.

"Ross, I'm going to go ask Cody to dance," said my sister.

"Ok."

This night was so perfect. Riker and Kat were dancing together, Rydel and Cody were dancing together. The only thing I was concerned about was Cody. He looked as though he might pass out, he was so shocked Rydel wanted to dance with him. On one of the first days I met him, I found out he liked Rydel. I think Rydel likes him too. Then only thing was, I knew Ellington liked her. Whatever. Nothing was official yet. I honestly didn't know who I wanted her to be with though. If she were with Ellington, she could see him when we had practice, but would it disrupt our practice time? But I knew Ellington. I knew he wouldn't hurt her or anything like that. But then again, I had gotten to know Cody too. He was always nice to Rydel when he was over our house. If only Rydel had a twin. Hmmm…

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

I drove Kat home after the dance in Ross's car. We had gotten our picture taken in front of this backdrop, and it looked amazing. Kat's dress was so pretty, and of course Kat herself was gorgeous. She looked beautiful no matter what she was wearing. I was pretty sure we were back together again, but things weren't exactly off to a good start. We weren't really talking all that much. It was kind of that awkward conversation you have with someone at school that you're being forced to work on a project with. You don't really know them, but you want to be nice and just get the work done and over with. Thinking about it now, we had barely even looked at each other. Well that wasn't exactly true. Kat didn't really look me in the eyes, but I always caught myself staring at her.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought it felt right getting back together and stuff. But things just seem kind of awkward I guess… I don't know…"

"Well considering what we've both been through, I think we're both doing quite well. Things won't be perfect at first. We just need to get back into the rhythm of things I guess."

"Do _you_… Want to do this?"

"Go out with you? Of course I do!"

"Ok."

"Why? Are you…"

"No. I just… I don't know. I wanted to make sure you wanted to try this again too."

"Of course I do."

Kat sighed.

"Ok."

I parked in Kat's driveway. Her house was completely dark. Cody was still at the dance, and apparently her parents weren't home either. I walked her up to her door.

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"In like 15 or 20 minutes, do you want to watch a movie or something? I just feel like we… I don't know, not get to know each other again, but… kind of, I guess."

"Sure. Whose house did you want to do it at?"

"We can do it at mine. I don't know if your dad will like the idea of us dating again."

"Oh. Good point. So I'll come back over in about 15 minutes?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. See you then."

I got back into Ross's car, and drove up the street to my house. My dad was sitting in the kitchen when I went inside.

"So how was the party?"

"It was a dance."

"Well then how was the dance?"

"Fine."

"Where's everyone else?"

"Still there."

"Why are _you_ home then?"

"It… was time for me to leave…"

"What?"

"Never mind. I have to go."

"Where?"

"Upstairs."

"What's the hurry?"

"I'm going over to a friend's house, but not dressed like this."

"Oh. Who's house?"

"Uh… Curt's…?"

"Have fun."

I ran up the stairs, two at a time, and ran into my bedroom. I grabbed my black and white plaid pajama bottoms, a black T-shirt, and headed to the bathroom to change. Once I was finished, I put my clothes in a pile on my bed, put on a pair of converse, and headed downstairs.

"Bye dad," I called, walking through the door.

"Bye Riker. Have fun."

I walked down the street to Kat's house. All the lights were off in her house, which I thought was odd, but maybe that was because she had them off for the movie. When I got to the front door, I noticed it was slightly cracked open.

"Kat?"

I pushed the door open, walked inside, and closed it behind me. I could hear Kat crying. I walked quickly toward the kitchen in the dark, getting closer to Kat, stepping on something. Something was all over the floor. I flicked the kitchen lights on.

"OH MY GOSH! KAT WHAT HAPPENED!?"


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

**Riker POV**

I knelt down to Kat, who was shaking pretty badly. There was blood all over her hands, and broken glass scattered everywhere.

"Kat, what happened!? Are you ok!?"

"S-someone attacked m-me!"

"What!?"

"S-someone… Someone w-was in here."

"Kat, I need you to calm down. It's really hard to understand you."

"Can… Can you…"

Kat held out her hands so I could see them. There was blood all over them, and a few pieces of broken glass sticking out.

"Yeah. Let's go to the bathroom."

I helped Kat up, and we carefully stepped over the glass and walked to the bathroom. I filled the sink up with water.

"Put your hands in there," I said, gently taking Kat's wrists and guiding them towards the sink.

I went in the bathroom closet and found a first aid kit. I gently dried the back of Kat's hands off with a towel, and turned her palms up to see the glass.

"Ok, this is probably going to hurt a little bit."

"AH! That hurts a lot!"

"Sorry! I need to get the glass out though."

"Ok… AH! That really _hurts_ Riker!"

"Hold on. I'm almost done."

"AH!"

"I'm being as gentle as I can!"

"I know, but it hurts!"

"Ok, I think I got all the glass out. We should probably sterilize it though."

"Oh… That's going to hurt."

"Only for a few seconds. Come on. Put your hands over the sink and let me pour this over them."

"AHHH!"

"Kat shhh! You're going to make me go deaf!"

"UGH! That was way longer than a few seconds!"

"Kat, calm down, and stop crying. I need to call the police."

Kat shook her head and left, still crying. Maybe I was a little too harsh… She _did_ get attacked… Whatever… I'd go find her after I called the police.

**Kat POV**

I can't believe after everything that just happened, Riker talked to me like that. I got attacked! It wouldn't hurt for him to have been a little nicer. I could hear him calling the police now…

"Kat, I called the police. They're sending a few cops over now to ask you a few questions."

"Ok."

"Are you ok?"

"Actually no. I'm not. My hands are burning, my back is aching, and I feel like you don't care about me!"

"Kat, I'm sorry. I care _so_ much about you. I just… Don't really know how to deal with stuff like this! It's really stressful, and you're hurt, and you're crying! I'm sorry! I'm really stressed, and scared, and I'm just trying to handle this as well as I can! Come on. Let's go wait for the cops."

I sighed as Riker brought me back into the living room where we sat down on the couch to wait.

**Riker POV**

"Did you say your back hurt?" I asked.

"Yeah. A lot."

"Tell me what happened."

Kat took a deep breath. She was finally starting to calm down.

"After I went inside and you left, I was going to go to the kitchen and put some popcorn in for us. I still hadn't turned on the light though. All of a sudden… I heard footsteps, a crash, and I was pushed hard into the edge of the countertop. And then… I fell on top of the glass. That's why I had glass in my hands."

I looked behind me into the kitchen. The china cabinet was smashed on the ground. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it for Kat, and just as I had thought, it was the cops.

**Later…**

**Riker POV**

Finally the cops were gone. They had questioned Kat about everything. Kat's parents came home in the middle of everything, so they answered some questions too. I was glad they came home though. I was freaking out a little. Once the cops had left, Kat's parents made sure we were ok, and then went to go clean up the mess in the kitchen. I was left sitting on the couch with Kat next to me.

"Will you take me upstairs?"

"Sure. Are you… ok?"

"My back just really hurts. AH! Yeah… _Really_ hurts…"

"Here. Let me help."

I picked Kat up and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. I placed her gently on her bed. She didn't look very comfortable in her dress though.

"Well… I should… probably go now…" I said, seeing as it was close to midnight.

"Riker?"

"Yeah."

"Could you wait? Cody gave me a memory stick. It had all my pictures on it. But he told me not to look at the last file on it until after the dance. I'm actually kind of nervous to see what it is."

"Of course I'll stay."

"Thanks. Do you mind waiting until I change first?"

"No, go ahead."

Kat grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathroom. I awkwardly sat on her bed, waiting for her to get back. When she did come back though, she was wearing pink and black plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank top. We were almost matching.

"Ok, let's see what the file it," Kat said, sitting down next to me.

"How's your back feeling?"

"It's really sore, but it feels a little bit better."

Kat plugged the memory stick into her computer, pulled up the list of files, and clicked on the last one.

"Oh my gosh! Riker!"


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

**Riker POV**

"Where did he get that from?" I asked.

"I have no idea!"

I was staring at the computer screen in shock. How did Cody get this!? It was a picture from the amusement park we'd gone to when Kat and I were forced to ride together by my siblings. It was one of those pictures they take at a weird moment in the ride so you looked crazy, and then when you get off, they have it printed out for you to take with you. But Kat and I didn't look crazy. I had my arm around her shoulders, and I was looking down at her. Kat was looking back up at me. It was probably the cutest rollercoaster photo anyone's ever taken.

"Maybe Ross gave it to him or something."

"Maybe."

"Why didn't he want you to look at it until after the dance?"

"Probably because he knew about _this_ all along, and he wanted to make sure their plan worked first."

"You look so adorable."

Whoa… I just said that out loud didn't I?

"So do you."

YES!

"Riker?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still want to watch that movie?"

"Isn't it kind of late?"

"Well yeah, it's already tomorrow, but there's no way I'll be falling asleep anytime soon after everything that happened tonight."

"Ok, then sure."

I helped Kat get the movie set up, shut the lights off, and then sat down next to her on her bed.

"Ugh…"

"What?"

"My back is killing me."

"Here, let me see."

Kat turned her back to me so I could pull the back of her shirt up, revealing a really big bruise across her back from the edge of the counter.

"Whoa, that looks like it really hurt."

"It did! And it still does."

"Here, I'll go get you some ice, don't start the movie yet."

"Riker. Thank you. For everything. I really needed you tonight, and you were there for me."

"Kat, I'll always be there for you."

I turned to go get the ice before she could see me start to cry. She was the only person that could make me feel like this. I almost crashed into her parents on my way down the stairs.

"Oh. Riker. Are you ok?" Kat's mom asked.

"Yeah. I'm just getting some ice for Kat."

"Is it her back?"

"Yeah."

"You don't think she broke anything do you?"

"No. I think she just bruised it pretty badly. If she broke something, I think she'd be in more pain."

"Ok. Good. Just keep an eye on her for me, would you? Tell me if she's not ok."

"I will."

"Thanks. She's really lucky to have someone like you, Riker."

"Well I'm really lucky to have someone like her too."

Kat's mom smiled at me before continuing up the stairs. I got some ice for Kat, and then went back upstairs.

"Here," I said.

"Thanks Riker."

I sat back down next to Kat on her bed, and we started the movie, which turned out to be a horror movie. Why she liked horror movies, I didn't know. I was actually a little shocked she picked a scary movie, considering everything that happened tonight. _I_ was definitely freaked out! And the fact that it was now past 2:00, and dark, and no one else was awake was making it even worse!

"Riker? You ok?" Kat whispered, startling me.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You seem… I don't know… Not yourself…"

"Well I don't really like scary movies."

"Oh… Riker I forgot. You could've told me."

"Nah, it's ok."

"So… You didn't really like the movie then…"

"Well I was scared! It's ok Kat."

"Well… Ok… You're ok now that it's over though right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Kat still didn't seem to believe me, but I knew it was because she cared about me, and that meant the world to me.

"So… What are we going to do now?" Kat asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well the movie's over. Are you going to go home? Or… What?"

"Uh…"

"I mean you don't have to. I'm not trying to make you. I'm just wondering."

"Honestly… I'm actually… Terrified of leaving this room right now… You don't know how freaked out I get with scary movies. It just makes me feel like outside of this room, someone's waiting to kill me. Almost like… you tonight…"

"Awww. Riker, it's ok. You can just stay the night."

"Are you sure? I can call Rocky to come get me."

"No, it's fine. Here, let me get you some blankets and stuff."

"Thanks. Hey Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… scared?"

"From the movie? No."

"No. I mean from what happened tonight."

"With getting attacked?"

"Yeah."

"Well yeah. We didn't find anything missing. So we don't exactly know what they were here for. I mean… What if they were here for me or Cody?"

"Well if they were here for you, then why are you still here? I mean wouldn't they have kidnapped you or killed you if they were here for you? Not just pushed you and left?"

"What if they didn't know it was me. What if they heard a person come home, but couldn't see who it was, so they figured they should just leave?"

"I don't know Kat."

"Ugh! You got me all scared now!"

"I didn't mean to. I was just wondering."

"Well now I'm not going to be able to fall asleep for a while. I'm wide awake!"

"Shhh! Do you want your parents to hear?"

"I don't care if my parents hear. After all I've been through, the least they can do for me is let you stay the night. Did you notice how they barely cared that I'd been attacked?"

"Kat, they cared! A lot!"

"No they didn't! They don't care about me or Cody. Well, maybe dad cares about Cody, but they don't care about me!"

"Kat, when I went to get you ice, I ran into your mom. She said she was happy you had me."

"Yeah, happy I had you, so she didn't have to deal with me!"

"Kat-"

"Why can't you just agree with me!?"

I looked away from Kat. I didn't know what to say anymore.

"Look, let's just go to sleep, ok? I'm sorry."

I silently got off Kat's bed, and set up my own on the floor next to Kat's.

"Riker. I'm sorry. I'm just freaked out. These past few days have taken a lot out of me."

Once I was finished setting up my bed, I laid down facing the wall.

"Riker, I don't want to go to sleep like this in the middle of a fight."

Had we really just had a fight? It hadn't even been a whole day, and we'd had a fight already? I guess we had…

"Riker. Please talk to me. Don't do this."

Ugh she was crying. Why was I doing this to her? Why was I hurting her? I loved her.

"Kat, I'm sorry. Can we just… Just forget anything happened and go to sleep."

"But you're mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Really?"

"I promise I'm not."

Kat half leaned off her bed to give me an awkward hug. I had to help push her back up before she fell off.

"Good night Riker."

"Good night Kat."

**The Next Night…**

**Kat POV**

I ran outside to meet Riker, who had run all the way from his house to mine.

"What was so important? My dad yelled at me for leaving halfway through dinner!" I shouted, annoyed.

"Kat. I have to tell you something," Riker shouted, running toward me.

"What's wrong? Why do you look upset? Riker! You're scaring me!"

"Kat," Riker said, breathing hard.

"What!?"

"We… We're…"

"What?"

"We're leaving for tour tomorrow."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

**Riker POV**

"YOU'RE WHAT!?" Kat shouted.

"We're leaving for tour tomorrow."

"How!? Did you know!? Riker why didn't you tell me!?"

"Kat, I literally just found out 5 minutes ago."

"You guys didn't know you were leaving for tour until the night before you have to leave!?"

"No. Everyone else knew 2 weeks ago. They just didn't tell me until now."

"Why!?"

"That's what I asked them. They said something about not wanting to make me feel pressured after everything I've been through."

"So you're really leaving _tomorrow_?"

"Yeah…"

"Well… What are we supposed to do!?"

"I don't know."

"How long are you going to be gone for?"

"3 months, well actually it's 94 days. It's a summer tour."

"So I'm not going to be able to see you for 94 days!?"

"Kat. I don't… know what you want me to do…"

"What time do you leave tomorrow?"

"5:30 in the morning."

"So this is literally the last time we're going to see each other…"

"What do you want me to do? What _can_ we do? What do you want?"

"I want you to stay!"

"I can't!"

"I know! I just… wish I had known sooner…"

"So do I…"

Kat started crying.

"I can't believe this…"

"Kat, if you don't want to wait for me… I'll understand…"

"No. You are the only guy I would ever want. I don't care however long I have to wait. If you're coming back, I'll be waiting for you."

"Really!?"

"I don't want anyone but you Riker."

"Ugh, you just made this incredibly harder!"

"We can get through this Riker. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah… But it'll be hard…"

**The Next Morning, 5:25 AM**

**Kat POV**

I ran up to Riker's driveway. Everyone was still packing up the tour bus.

"Kat! What are you doing here!?" Riker shouted.

"I wasn't letting you leave without saying goodbye!"

"Oh Kat… I'm going to miss you _so_ much!" Riker said, hugging me tightly.

"I know I'm going to miss you too."

"Come on Riker! We have to go!" Rocky shouted.

"Ok, be there in a minute!"

"Riker. You'll text me and write to me and everything right?"

"Of course I will."

"I love you Riker."

"I love you too Kat."

Riker broke away from our hug, and got on the tour bus. I stood in their driveway and watched Riker wave to me through the window. I waved back as I watched their tour bus slowly pull away.

**The End.**

**I hope you all enjoyed my fanfiction! Thank you to everyone who reviewed – mainly ****_ravenclawonder_****. It kept me motivated to update, knowing people were reading and enjoying it! I might eventually do a sequel to this, but I've already promised 2 other sequels to "A True Friend When Nothing Else Matters" and "The Perfect Summer Vacation." My next fanfiction will be called "Making it Through." It's the sequel to "A True Friend When Nothing Else Matters." That was my first fanfiction, so my writing is kinda sucky, but I like the plot, and someone wanted a sequel, so that's why I'm doing it. Again, thank you all so much for reading. 3 Kylie**


End file.
